Ever seen that one Twilight Zone episode where technology got out of hand and backfired on the humans that created it? Right, that was probably half the series, teaching us the lesson that just because the technology allows it doesn’t mean that’s it’s the best idea. So there’s just something about a drum machine that instantly removes the humanity from a piece of music. My brain subconsciously knew it from the first song, but then my active brain noticed it too after awhile. It just felt robotic; like a dance punk record, like Andrew W.K. or something. And that’s no dig on anyone’s art or music, but I love punk rock and rock’n’roll in general in part because of the alchemy that occurs when multiple humans play instruments together at the same time to create a whole that’s more than the sum of their parts. That’s why live music is so compelling. It’s also why drum machines—and click-tracked, beat-detectived drums for that matter—just don’t feel right or natural. Our human ears can pretty easily hear this if we pay attention. And I don’t mean to pick on Science Man, this record honestly has some pretty good tunes. I just wish they were played by more than one person. –Chad Williams (Swimming Faith, swimmingfaithrecords.com / Feral Kid, feralkidrecords.com)