After being held back from its initial Jan. 28 release date, second album, the Bellingham, Wash. rock duo Idiot Pilot has released Wolves on Reprise Records.
Band members Michael Harris and Daniel Anderson carried a creative sound through to Wolves from their last album, 2004’s Strange We Should Meet Here, with elements of electronic sound, post-rock and pop to create a sometimes mellow, sometimes aggressive sound.
"Retina in the Sky," which is also on the Transformers soundtrack, is one of the better songs on the album, creating both a relaxed feel with an up-tempo touch. The rest of the album seems like a compilation of different versions of the same song, making it difficult to differentiate one track from the next.
Besides being somewhat predictable during many parts of the album, a few tracks are able to hold up above the rest.
"Reoccurring Dream" shows a somewhat different side of Idiot Pilot and this album, since it’s a little less intense than most of the other tracks.
With a good overall sound, the album will be sure to please loyal fans of Idiot Pilot but may not have the potential to branch out and gather new fans. This is partially because of the range of tracks where the vocals seem like screams into the microphone while other tracks are much less aggressive.
The album is suffocated by never-ending repetition, leaving little space for innovation and creativity.
With a sound borrowed from Explosions in the Sky and Radiohead, it seems that Idiot Pilot hardly differentiates itself and its sound from other bands.
In spite of the repetition, some of the tracks are very catchy and begin to grow on you as you give it multiple listens.
Idiot Pilot is beginning its Taste of Chaos tour at the end of February. The tour won’t be coming to Houston, but fans can see the bands live performance in Dallas, Corpus Christi or San Antonio in early April.
Wolves is the first studio-produced album for the electronic rock duo with collaborations on the album from Travis Barker of Blink-182 and Chris Pennie of Dillinger Escape Plan.
