Transhuman Revolution

TRANSHUMAN REVOLUTION recaptures the sweetness that endeared listeners to Barcelona's debut record "simon BASIC" while showing remarkable growth in the group's songwriting. Songs like "everything makes me think about sex" are clearly more mature than past efforts, but tempered by knowing winks. Frequently labeled "programmer pop" and "geek rock" in the past, Barcelona show less interest in those themes on this record and evade their own cliches with more emotive songs like "fleeting fame", "human simulation" and "west coast radio". Pop, punk, disco and new wave influences reign here, a recompiled olio of everything from Blondie, Moroder, Agent Orange, New Order, and Unrest to Funboy Three. Try to imagine Michael Jackson's "Off the Wall" if it had been recorded by Spark's Mael brothers. In an often homogenous music scene, Barcelona have succeeded in creating a sound unique to themselves. Equal parts indie rock and retro-synthesized pop, TRANSHUMAN REVOLUTION is both referential and incomparable; nervous, erratic and infinitely catchy. Guitars and analog synthesizers create the backdrop. Jennifer's confident vocals lend support to Jason's slightly paranoid melodies. The band show off their pop tendencies by dispersing clever harmonies and trading melodies across each song while producer and collaborator, trevor/hollAnd, sparks an often contrary and unexpected brilliance. Cementing their close working relationship with trevor/hollAnd, THR marks Barcelona's first release on his pulCec label following two releases on March Records. All four previous Barcelona titles are still available exclusively via Darla too. The final sequence of the album was selected by FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH author, Cameron Crowe. This is easily the best record from Barcelona yet.