ADULT. are (aside from being grammatically sensitive about their name) one of those bands whose ideals and creative vision are more easily appreciated than the music that they create. Their desire to craft something new and different – music as an artistic statement – is a noble and interesting endeavor; unfortunately, their angular, effects-ridden brand of techno-laced indie dance rock misses the mark.
The music sounds like what we would hear in cartoons as kids as a glimpse into the future of New Wave music. The masses shuffling back and forth on their feet with glazed over eyes as sharp, screeching noises emanated from a stage filled with lackluster performers.
The vocals are reminiscent of both Glass Candy and The Shattered Theater, and grate on your brain, contributing to ADULT.’s relentless assault of harsh sounds on your senses. The nonchalant attitude is that either you get it or you don’t, but it makes no difference to them either way.
This sort of creative ethic will make ravenous fans out of some listeners and unimpressed critics of others, and that seems to be just fine with the members of ADULT. After all, few bands lack the audacity to publish rules for how to write or speak their name in different situations on their website.
Even though it’s honestly difficult for me to get through 12 tracks of what sounds like someone incessantly screaming at me for no good reason, with personality like this, it’s easy to look beyond the sounds that come from this little plastic disc and see further into the minds that created it, which is an entertaining endeavor in and of itself.
– Chris Smith
ADULT. (Thrill Jockey Records)