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Hook the Captain: Bang to This
It took me a long time to not hate this CD. In fact, it happened by accident. I was fully prepared to sit down and spew all sorts of bile about the stagnation of electronic music and those who seem incapable of moving out of the nineties. After all, my first impression upon hearing the disc was that it was a derivative clone of various mid-nineties pop electronica staples like Underworld, Psykosonic, etc. Then, as I gave it the final listen before writing today, it hit me; Bang to This isnt a surviving fossil; rather, it has somehow developed in a bubble. Imagine an alternate "now," where an aging Rave culture hasnt imploded in a self-destructive blend of mid-western meph-factories, high-school invasions, and police crackdowns. Imagine that in this world, IDM hasnt become an arms-race of artistic development, making the standard four-on-the-floor and basic drum-n-bass beats seem lazy and uninspired. This is the timeline that might lead to the popularization of the music Hook creates. It is a seemingly simple and predictable blend of downtempo electronica and synthpop style hooks and verses. Yet somehow, as a whole, this works. I dont have a lot of specifics to praise the album on. Individually analyzed, the tracks are still rather derivative and unexceptional, but the listening experience, with the exception of the last song (its a tongue-in-cheek track, and I really dislike "funny" music), is entirely pleasant. I recommend it to anyone trying to fill the downtempo-electropop void in his/her collection.
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