Maryland trio's eighth album triumphantly tunes up their electro-rock motor.
Trans Am - Sex Change
[4/5] At their best, Trans Am forge captivating electro rock that combines an ominous retro-futurist starkness with cheeky virtuosity and thrilling dynamics. What makes their music more intriguing is you never know if Trans Am are utterly serious or parodying coldly paranoiac synth muzik, bombastic prog and chugging boogie rawk. (However,
Red Line, their eclectic 2000 masterpiece, eludes critical generalizations.)
Sex Change finds Trans Am veering away from the political jabs and trenchant rock of 2004's
Liberation and crafting more easygoing and, ironically, liberating songs. Phil Manley, Nathan Means and Sebastian Thomson still fuse rock with techno with more nonchalant poise than nearly anybody else, but they've also crafted some of their most gorgeous tunes here ("First Words," "North East Rising Sun,"). And if you want rock that's powerfully inspirational, go to "Shining Path" and "Triangular Pyramid," which close the disc with coruscating hammer blows that would make Andrew W.K. flinch.
(THRILL JOCKEY) Dave Segal
Official Website: http://www.thrilljockey.com
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