Is There a Term for Mania in Robot Psychology?

Ima Robot’s self-titled debut is a far cry from band members Alex Ebert’s and Tim Anderson’s rap project that bore the same name. Since then, Anderson has picked up a guitar, Oliver Goldstein has joined to contribute keyboards, and Justin Meldal-Johnsen and Joey Waronker, both former members of Beck’s band, have added their respective talents on bass and drums. On Ima Robot, the band has unveiled itself in an extension of the current garage-rock revival with their new-wavy feel. Songs like “Dynomite” and “A Is For Action” rock as hard as their titles would suggest, whereas moments from “12=3” and “Here Come The Bombs” will make you swear it’s Oingo Boingo.
If they truly are a robot, then they are powered by the perpetual motion machine that is Ebert’s vocals – a manic string of frenetic notes over which Ebert seems to maintain only partial control. The lyrics seem to play into the madness, as “A Is For Action” heralds the end times, and “Here Come The Bombs” tells you to purchase their album even as bombs are falling. Instrumentally, Ima Robot can hold your attention to a point, with the trio of rock-out tunes that open the album and the 80s-pop flavor that dominates the second half. However, it is Ebert’s histrionic voice that makes you reach for Ima Robot, and without it, there is little else that makes the album worth remembering. Whether Ebert’s singing taps into your nervous system, or you simply wish he would swallow a bottle of sedatives, you will either love or hate Ima Robot because of the pandemonium inspired by his ultra-hyper, unstable vocals.