CYBOTRON

Cybotron's self-titled album is my first exposure to this '70s-era Australian electronic duo, and my first impression was a dissatisfied "meh". Unfortunately, my view of this album hasn't really changed since I've been listening to it off and on for the past few months.

Cybotron would be best described as classic experimental electronic music if only other artists (Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream, etc.) hadn't already been doing it better. That's not to say this music is bad, but compared to it's contemporaries, it is just kind of bland and uninspired. Here we've got the synths, sequencers, propulsive krautrock beat, and spacey melodies. The only two points about this album that stand out are that the krautrock beats are considerably energetic compared to most work by Schulze or others, and the occasional saxophone. Unfortunately, neither of these elements make the music sufficiently more interesting than anything else of this same style and don't really make for anything other than a "hey, that's kind of different for a minute" realization that is quickly washed over once the boredom sets back in.

If you want some '70s-era electronic music and are tired of the classic artists in the genre, then this album might be for you. If you're looking for something different and more compelling, or at least equally as compelling as the classic artists, then you should look elsewhere.