Octopus Project

Once described quite appropriately as "junktronica," the Octopus Project has taken a true DIY approach to music on this album by mixing live instruments and electronics without any real sense of what they were doing. This kind of experimental combination can have disastrous results when in the wrong hands, but this Austin-based group seem to have things relatively under control. Identification Parade is an odd combination of electronic samples and drum machines with live guitars, bass and drums, all mixed into a weird, unexplainable type of avant-garde prog-pop. They claim to have started a band first and learned how to play their gear later, and in certain instances this is quite apparent. Things can really get noisy and rocking on tracks like "Righteous Ape and Bird," or goofy on "The Way Things Go" and "Marshall Examines His Carcass." For the most part, though, the album tends to wander through mysterious soundscapes of vintage keyboards and distorted drums and samples. Although there is certainly nothing terribly catchy on the album, their willingness to learn and take chances makes this worth taking a look at, provided you can handle abstract music.