These Are Powers - All Aboard Future

Album Review by Jason Morton | 24 Feb 2009
Album title: All Aboard Future
Artist: These Are Powers
Label: Dead Oceans
Release date: 16 Feb

All Aboard Future, the latest from These Are Powers, is a good electro-noise-pop record, but is ultimately a tale of two halves. The nine-track LP recalls, at times, the discordant yet beautiful sounds of Parts & Labor’s Receivers and more bass-heavy cuts from Enon’s back catalog (especially in Easy Answers and Double Double Yolk). There's also a clear Liars influence, which is unsurprising as These Are Powers' Pat Noecker used to hold down bass duties for them. Patching these sounds together, the experimental trio do an admirable job of forging their own identity, with credit due to Anna Barie’s at times sultry, at others scary, vocals. All Aboard Future could benefit from one or two uptempo tracks, though, and their absence leaves a listener feeling a little let down as such a build-up – akin to a speeding car waiting to break into fourth gear – downshifts into a surprisingly subdued latter half. [Jason Morton]

http://www.thesearepowers.com