3 out of 5

Produced by: The Octopus Project

Label: Peek-a-Boo Records

Electronic trio Octopus Priject have crafted a rewarding catallogue of experimentation.  By keeping their eyes on the prize of keeping their music grooving and fun, they’ve been able to bounce all around stylistically – whether from album to album or inter-album – to produce tracks that exhibit ambient textures, glitch, downtemo, pop, punk, and beyond.  And as the years and releases have stacked up, that approach has rewarded us with a band uniquely malleable and yet fully in sync, operating as a single entity with constantly evolving parts.  But here on their debut… The Octopus Project feels somewhat like its name implies: a project, each song a ‘tentacle,’ perhaps, though removed from a central, controlling body.  Every song is fun and fascinating in its own right, with some clear, head-bobbing standouts with Rorol, and Porno Disaster, as well as the interesting layers attempted on the robotically sloppy  Crying at the Aquarium, or dreamy closer Hypnopaedia.  There’s just a distance to the album, thus fittingly bedecked by a cover with headless mannequins; bodies filling a pre-defined form; artsy but faceless.

It’s a disc of very promising intentions and solid grooves, but nowhere near as engaging as what would follow.