3 out of 5

Produced by: Jonathan Kreinik (tracks: 2, 3, 5, 11, 13, 15), Mark Edwards (tracks: 1, 4, 6 to 10, 12, 14, 16 to 18), Phil Manley (tracks: 2, 3, 5, 11, 13, 15) (recorded by)

Label: Spongebath Records

Does Knodel rock?  Of course they do.  It’s not even a question.  I’ve been ejected from our holy land of Franco-techno, Devo-devotionals for even asking such a thing.

For those not in the know, though: Knodel rocks.  They’ll tell you as much in a song, but only after proclaiming, y’know, that they are Knodel.  And while you’re rolling your eyes at the kitschy indulgence of this self-referential nonsense (and its accompanying ruling-the-world dogma, of course), it might slip by that the group is laying down 18 slick, damned catchy tracks of punk-fused electro, never breaking out of character the entire time.  This is key: if there were a hint of a wink, it’d break the spell, but from the Tron overlord cover to the groups front to back commitment to, like, programming you to get funky, Knodel only knows how to rock.

If you have their followup album, the great Dawn of the Butterfly, you hear how their empire, dominance established, has allowed the jamming automaton of Knodel to evolve; here on White Hole its all mission statement, staking their claim all over their kingdom.  As such, it’s a bit more sprawling, bleep blipping from noisier proclamations to slippery jamz to tight bop and back again.  That might – in the real world – be a consequence of this disc cobbling together some EPs – but in the Knodel world, I think its just programmatic proof of their all-reaching abilities, y’all.

What I’m trying to say: Knodel effects a modernized version of 80s electro-rock, tongue stitched to cheek with its story of a music group taking over the world with the power of their very Knodelness.  Thankfully, the narrative errs on the side of fun over obnoxious, the creators knowing when to stay out of the way and just let their compositions make us groove or headbob or rock, which is often.  The artifice is its own limitation, though: the disc feels like a showcase of styles, and certainly can’t broach past being more than “fun” or “silly.”

There are definitely times when that’s all my ears want, though, so all praise the Knodel revolution of White Hole.