Perhaps the frontman of The Apples in stereo Robert Schneider best sums up this album, calling his vision for it “retro-futuristic super-pop.” Sounding like it was dreamed up by a kid hopped up on too much 70’s era bubblegum, “Travellers In Space And Time” makes for a super-saccharin atmosphere. This bubblegum sweetness is combined with what can be a strangely satisfying spacey sound, as Schneider often combines dance beats with a charmingly cheesy disco vibe.
The album is certainly fun. It’s full of catchy hooks and fun dance beats, such as in the aptly named Dance Floor. But, while you hope that the album will take off and rocket successfully through the musical universe, it struggles to reach escape velocity, dragged down by the overly kitschy vibe it exudes with overdone vocal manipulations, synthesizers often trite lyrics. It almost sputters out before it gets started with the annoyingly repetitive Hey Elevator and the (at best) inane C.P.U. and fails to gain enough momentum to really be worthy of much more than a casual - albeit enjoyable - listen.
But “Travellers In Space And Time” makes its strongest effort at the close. Floating In Space is entirely atmospheric and if you close your eyes you can easily envision asteroids and stars flying by as electro-pop beats swirl around vocals that are refreshingly pure. Nobody But You demonstrates the band’s musical prowess and ability to construct artful and balanced arrangements with true indie-pop style. Wings Away also demonstrates the band’s extensive songwriting capabilities. The common thread in these three final tracks is that The Apples In Stereo are keeping things simple, making for a final thrust which can almost be redemptive of the whole album – if it weren’t for the gravitational effects of trite mediocrity to which the other songs have been subjected. These final songs point to the direction the entire album could have taken if only its foray into spacey disco-pop had not been so abstracted from the band’s artful songwriting and musical capabilities that they have demonstrated in the past.
Rating – 2.5/5
- Reviewed by Christina Alifrangis
Travellers in Space and Time is available at Road Records http://www.roadrecs.com
