Cancel the Astronauts – I Am the President of Your Fanclub EP Review
Scottish indie-electro group Cancel the Astronauts, not to be confused with local indie-electro band Cancel Winter, (apparently forming an indie-electro band requires canceling everything) have released their debut album, entitled “I Am the President of Your Fanclub (And I Followed You Home Last Night).” Self described as an album about “stalking and inappropriate lusting and stalking and sexing and stuff,” their sound falls somewhere between the Reason and Born Ruffians. I know, most of you have already splooged in your pants just thinking about that.
Perhaps it`s my personal distaste for 80`s throwback, but from the very first song right until the end, I couldn`t help thinking that many parts of the songs would sound 10 times better without the cheesy synth getting in the way. The truth is that the band`s sound is tight and pretty easy to get into. The vocals, drawled on in Isaac Brock fashion, are supported by the always fitting drumming styles of Chris Kay, and a double guitar attack that succeeds in filling the sound. I`ll even admit that there is one or two songs on the EP, like ” Late in the City,” where the synth seems to add a nice touch to the song instead of getting in the way. Of course for listeners who adore the Beverly-Hills-Cop-80`s-pop synth sound, like I`m sure many fans of the Reason do, their synth-infused indie rock EP will be enjoyable through and through.
The lyrics range from bizarre songs about stalking (opening/title track) to lyrics that are just downright juvenile and non-sensical (”Country Song”). But that`s not necessarily the worst thing in the world, because at many times the lyrics do fit the sound, which is playful, carefree, and juvenile.
One thing that`s worth saying about Cancel the Astronauts is that it would be hard to argue that they`re faking it. The one thing that impressed me the most about this band is that not only within the same EP, but often within the same song, such as the final one, the band would move from being goofy and quirky, to being genuinely heartfelt and serious. They make the transition seamlessly from a lyrical and musical point of view and finish the song, while I feel as if I`ve listened to one cohesive story. That`s tough to do.
With that said, though the band isn`t hiding it, there is hardly anything else original about what they do. The vocal style has been over and over again from new indie band to new indie-electro-superindie-band ad nauseum. And while their lyrics about stalking and fanclubs are refreshing at first, they soon drift into ultra cliche lyrics about everyday romantic conquest.
If you`re already a fan of anything and everything electro-indie that is flooding the music scene these days then I`m certain you`ll have a blast with this EP, one of the better ones I`ve heard in this genre. But aside from the fact that they`re tight and produce a fairly lush sound for this kind of music, there is nothing that really separates these Scottish indie rockers from the rest of the flock.
Country Song by Cancel the Astronauts
Late in the City by Cancel the Astronauts
Tags: EP
Oh dear, not a great review for us! Sorry you didn’t like it, but thanks for taking the time to listen to the EP and for going to the trouble of giving us a review.