2 out of 5

Label: Digital Hardcore

Producer: Alec Empire

Atari Teenage Riot never really caught my eye or ear – they seemed purposefully offensive – which works for me sometimes, but it seemed boring in ATR’s presentation – and what I’d read and judged of them based on who they were generally grouped with musically didn’t do much to convince me otherwise.  Then one day I got my hands on an Alec Empire solo record and was really surprised with how against my expectations it was, not just in terms of the style (which was sort of improvised electronic noodling) but also with the depth that I found there.  So I pledged to go back and listen to ATR at some point, because maybe with hindsight and a lack of judgment that’s somewhat unavoidable when working in a music store, I would “get” it.

I read that ATR’s goal was to interject some political life back into the scene, as the group was alarmed at the passivity that had overtaken the youth’s voice.  The Allmusic review of “Delete Yourself” says that the boasting on the record gets tired, but, if I can be a jerk, I think he was assuming that the band shouting its own name was boasting, when early on the lyrics attest to life being a video game… so shouting “Atari Teenage Riot” is as much a battle cry as it is the underlying sentiment of using the programming to revolt.  That this video game statement and the self-titled track come, respectively, at the beginning and end of the album is fine by me, because those are the only parts that do anything.

Things start at whipping us up to an appropriate frenzy – the opener is a whirldwind of the ATR staple, insane BPM and a shout of call to arms.  The second track adds to this by throwing in a wicked and blazing guitar hook, then juxtaposing it with (I think) sarcastic, blase vocals stating – and I’m paraphrasing – “let’s talk about the revolution or whatever.”  It’s an effective track that, to me, fulfills the group’s intention.  Now, I came back around to my ATR goal after reviewing a James Plotkin record, because a review I read on that compared his pummeling beats to the way ATR overwhelms the listener with the same.  The difference is that Plotkin’s goal of unsettling the listener works because he never settles.  But after track 2… ATR most certainly do.  We’ve gotten our ripping noise down, we’ve shouted out what we’re here for… now what?  So repeat, pretty much, for ten tracks.  If these were just bursts of sound, maybe it could be pulled off, but shouting different versions of the same anthem with similar beats and riffs and then, jesus, to make it sort of dancey, it just doesn’t work either as a compelling listen or to match your theme.

Those final two tracks come back around to the point, sort of, by ditching some of the theatrics (via samples or talking about Nazis) and just letting the beat drone while we shout “Riot.”  It’s not much of a variation, granted, but it’s at least no longer trying to be clever.

We’ll see where the band goes (or went) from here.