Sump Pumps
Revenge of the…
8 Bit
Synth-heavy punk rock straight out of Indiana, Revenge of the… by Sump Pumps doesn’t really deliver anything more than an energy drink’s worth of adrenaline, but it’s a fun ride nonetheless.
Kicking things off with a goofy little kid’s daydream of a tune called “Space Camp” – with a chorus that yells Do you wanna go to Space Camp?/ Fuck Yeah!? Space Camp!, the album sets the tone for a humorous albeit superfluous trip into the land of video game bleeps and blips, and overly synthesized sounds. At times they recall Brainiac, or The A.K.A.’s.
The band’s reliance on special audio effects leaves me cold, and it feels so unnecessary. They’re at their best when the post-punk sneering vocals of Kyle Beach are allowed to burst through without being mired down in keyboard effects, as on the album’s best and most straight-forward track “State of the Art.” Unfortunately those moments are few and far between.
Sump Pumps: http://www.myspace.com/sumppumps
