Aalacho - Electro

This album is billed in the press kit as the "electro-rock creation of Nathan Scott" and then goes on to give a brief biographical history of Nathan as he followed his muse from rural Michigan to Seattle, thence to release his second full-length as Aalacho, following 2002's "Sugar." It all sounds great and the bright orange sticker on the front proclaiming a Felix da Housecat remix of the lead track "Pompeii" would lead to think that you are in fact, holding an electro album in your hands.

It's somewhat ironic that the album is up for a packaging design award, because in fact, it's at the very least downright misleading. There's a whole lot more "rock" than "electro" on this disc, which at thirty-five minutes is kind of on the light side for a full-length, especially when you consider the 6 minute FdH remix that closes the disc.

The original version of Pompeii has a decent enough groove, but Nathan's breathy vocals don't go that well with the music and the synth lines border on obstrusive. The second track, "Lift," builds nicely and features some nice basslines - mostly instrumental, it holds together quite well. The third track is possibly the most unusual interpretation of a Beatles tune of the new millennium and it's a fair bet "Ticket To Ride" has never been stretched quite this far. Gotta love the chutzpah if nothing else?

"I Climb You" has some nice shimmery guitar lines, but not much else. Guitar is also heavily featured on "It's Not About Love," a crunchy number that's kind of out of place here. The sixth and last original tune, "Atomic Playboy" is the silliest song on the album, but at least it's kind of electro-y.

For dance music folks, Felix's remix of "Pompeii" is certainly the most compelling reason to check this record out and it's a decent enough six minutes of dance music. But six minutes is not enough to turn this into a dance record, electro or otherwise.

If you're looking for some quirky pop, you might want to check out this latest offering from Aalacho, but don't make the mistake of judging this book by it's electro-cover.