DON CABALLERO 2

I'm not one to harshly criticise an album for its emotional value or lack thereof. Usually, my take on music is that if I can simply enjoy it and feel at least adequately challenged, I'm okay even if there might not be much of an emotional connection. I can't apply the same process here; I now realize just what it means for an album to lack emotion or to have a ''cold and distant'' sound.

No doubt that the members on Don Caballero are very skilled at what they do, particularly Damon Che and his unique approach to drumming (sort of half beat, half lead instrument). The time signatures are insane and the guitars play a cluster of notes. The problem is that the music is so mechanical that life doesn't seem present here. We get the occasional groovy pattern like ones in ''Stupid Puma'', ''Who Gives a Hoot About Faux-Ass Nonsense'' and ''P,P,Pantless'', but DON CABALLERO II is very static.

The longer songs are an excrutiating challenge to endure because of their lengths, and with the overt technicalities here, it takes immense willpower just to sit through the entirety of say ''Please Tokio...''. If anyone's ever heard of the term ''button-masher'' for certain video games, then DON CABALLERO II is the equivalent of that. It sounds like a ''fret-masher'' album. The same chugging guitar riffs mashing the frets or creating migraine-inducing noises get redundant at album's end. Only ''Repeat Defender'' deflects from this template as it sounds very techno/electronic.

If robotic guitar riffs in the most obtuse metres gives you a buzz, then this is the album for you. Anyone interested in finding a memorable melody should stay away. I can see where the appeal lies, but this is too technical for me to get behind.