One of the keys to safe and effective synth punk (which I am assuming this qualifies as) is that the drum sounds have to sound not necessarily real, but “right.” They need to sound like the true and proper tool for the job. They can be blatantly artificial sounding, but they can’t just sound like something thrown in there because no one could find anyone willing to play drums, then they just sound cheesy. My current working theory is that one of the things that makes artificial drums sound “right” is having a keyboard bassline that sounds like the low twang of a thick rubber band, which Silicone Prairie has, hence their drum sounds pass muster. What’s weird about this is that, as the record progresses, the songs start to sound increasingly like the work of a frustrated mod, with stuttering drum machine outbursts that sound like a fake Keith Moon or maybe if the dude from the Raspberries was a remote controlled windup toy about a foot tall. One would think that this would be grounds for the drum sounds coming off as cheesy, but, since the drum sounds were already established as “right” sounding on the early songs, this carries over through the rest of the album. This sounds like a cool worn-out cassette from 1984. Many other fascinating personal insights await the listener. BEST SONG: “Open Module.” BEST SONG TITLE: “Song for the Eagles to Sing,” which sounds more like “Song for the Dead Milkmen to Sing.” FANTASTIC AMAZING TRIVIA FACT: I’m a sucker for albums with covers that look like graph paper and it appears my weakness has been discovered. –Rev. Nørb (Feel It)