The sound of idiot Pilot looks back to the shoegazer rock of the mid-nineties, slowly gliding over tracks like “Losing Color” with controlled chaos (in terms of the guitar riffs) and ethereal-feeling vocals. The much more noisy “A Day In The Life of a Poolshark”, specifically the Jeckyl/Hyde nature of the track allows for all listeners to see another side of the band. The look-back towards Radiohead’s “Ok Computer” is a constant throughout “Strange We Should Meet Here”, as Idiot Pilot’s only retooling of that general sound comes in the infusion of more emo elements. The ethereal nature of the disc comes back in places more heavily than others; take a listen to the Erasure-influenced “Les Lumieres” and try to make a case that Idiot Pilot is not at least inspired. What is really a break-out track for Idiot Pilot is their two-track “Spark Plug”, which starts out as a number of the previous tracks on the disc have, but rapidly moves into an intense, bowel-shaking monument to Idiot Pilot’s harder influences. In fact, the breakdown on “Spark Plug” moves into the realm of both System of a Down and Ministry before sliding back into the digital muck that the band revels in.
The sound that Idiot Pilot cultivates throughout this disc is innovative, only trending a little closely to the Postal Service a few times throughout the disc. The mixture of U2 and traditional emo/hardcore screaming present during the title track really creates in a nutshell exactly what Idiot Pilot is; a band that hap-hazardly puts together their influences in such a way that what emanates forth is different from anything ever heard. This is perfectly shown by the inclusion of some blistering rap on “Militance Prom”, which (aside from that section) traces the same path drawn by the rest of the tracks on the disc.
Idiot Pilot may have an excessive amount of material that is only slightly distinguishable from each other, but the little shake-ups that happen seemingly throughout each and every track on “Strange We Should Meet Here” are really the gold that is to be panned on this disc. Idiot Pilot have been able to cultivate a number of different styles on this disc without losing the main focus that they infused the disc with at the onset. Idiot Pilot is thus a band for a new generation, instead of just being someone that cops mindlessly off of 80s synthpop (Killers, Bravery, et al).
Top Tracks: Militance Prom, A Day In The Life Of A Poolshark
Rating: 6.8/10
Idiot Pilot – Strange We Should Meet Here / 2005 Reprise / 14 Tracks /http://www.idiotpilot.com / http://www.repriserecords.com / Reviewed 14 May 2005