The French duo behind
Acid Washed has a bit of a split personality on its debut self-titled album. While the bulk of the album is made up of sleek techno and house tracks equally influenced by
Kraftwerk and
Daft Punk, there are also some moments of club-friendly hip-hop ("Apply") or retro synth pop ("The Rain") with vocals that don’t match the mood the other tracks establish. While they don’t destroy the album (especially since you can program it to play however you like once you buy it), hearing these short pop songs next to long, robotic jams like "Change" and "General Motors, Detroit, America" (the album's most memorable track) is a bit like sitting at a stoplight and having the occupants of the car next to you drown out your radio with theirs. Fortunately, the fat bubbling synths and ear for a good melody are consistent no matter what the style of song, and the duo’s strong feel for dynamics and structure mean that even the long songs never meander. Only the lyrically banal "Snows Melt" and the somewhat cheesy "Bikini Atoll" fail to live up to the high standards of the rest of the album. It may not be groundbreaking and it won’t make you forget any of their influences, but
Acid Washed is a fine debut with lots of promise for the future. ~ Tim Sendra