Formed by the unlikely meeting of vocalist Daryl Palumbo (Glassjaw) and producer Dan the Automater (Gorillaz, Handsome Boy Modeling School ), Head Automatica began its journey. The first result was their first release Decadence. Decadence included beats typical of Dan the Automater meeting the passion for rock and roll, brought to the table by frontman Daryl Palumbo. However, things seem to have changed on this album. The honesty in the album title Propaganda is appreciated, but the mundane pop-punk themes seem to be getting quite old.
Propaganda’s first single Graduation Day is sure to be a favorite for anyone who heard it numerous times on that special day and night (convenient album release date). The only problem is it’s only a matter of time before a teen drama television series includes it in the background of a graduation scene, causing a disastrous cliché scene and robbing the song of any distinctiveness.
It seems that this is just the start of reinvention for Head Automatica. While many things are much different from their previous album in a positive way, much can be done to refine the aspects of Head Automatica that are illustrated in Propaganda , such as focusing on themes and melodies that are a little more unique. When listening to Propaganda you might have the feeling that you’ve heard the entire album before, it’s up to you if you like that feeling or not.
release date: Tuesday, June 6, 2006
