Magna Carta/Border
Toronto quartet THE ANDROID MEME is not subject to conventions. They look like the runaway sons of the Rocky Horror Show and they sound like basically not many more. They state various influences like TOOL, PETER GABRIEL, TEARS FOR FEARS and MOTLEY CRUE, the latter being a riddle. The title itself has multiple meanings, and so has the music for the open minded.
To start with there is only one average track on the album. “Whistleblower” may be ominous and theatric, but it is also quite one-dimensional, modern and chaotic compared to the rest of the album. I noted no less than five tracks that I believe to not only stand out from the crowd, but to do it in a positive way. There are the RUSH reminiscent “Left Right Paradise”, the metal DEPECHE of the synthesizer laden “Sumii”, the exciting “Stranger”, with heavy guitar work, interesting programming and a lot of depth and atmosphere. The title track is prog and pop metal with a lively bass line and grooves that will cause envy, alongside the intense “Polar Rose” those are the defying moments of this excellent disc. The programming, the odd mix of influences, the courage to stand out and have something to offer in a genre with a lot of conventions, that is THE ANDROID MEME to me. My greatest fear is that this might be overexciting for the sales figures…
Track List
The Machine Stops
Sumii
Polar Rose
Sigma
Ordo Ab Chao
Left Right Paradise
Esoterika
Spook
Whistleblower
Stranger
www.magnacarta.net www.myspace.com/theandroidmeme
