Update: Be sure to read the follow-up to this post!

Is it possible for me to describe how I feel about The Protomen’s long-awaited release, Act II?  I’m going to try.  Forgive me if it gets muddled, but that’s just the state of things here.

Before I awkwardly stumble about the page with haphazard and confused words about this album, let’s just take a good look at the cover art, OK?  It’s brilliant, isn’t it?  The whole noir aspect, the early vs. late 20th Century cities, bridged by Dr. Light and Emily.  Is that Wiley on the screen?  And who is that watching from the ledge?  Brilliant work.  Few album covers are as interesting these days.

Now the music, well, the music is hard to pin down.  It reflects the same division of culture depicted on the cover, varying between acoustic thrumming when describing the world Light grew up in, and heavy synthesizers and electric guitars when the setting shifts to the hyper-industrialized world where Light becomes a pariah and fugitive.

To be honest, I’m a little disappointed with the direction they took musically.  I was greatly excited by their Father of Death single, expecting it to be more representative of the whole upcoming release.  I admire their dedication to concept and think they did a fantastic job of executing on their ideas, but I should have heeded the warning that was their cover of “Danger Zone” when I saw them at Nerdapalooza this summer.  Half of this album is, unfortunately, just not for me.

On the other hand, I’m still dreadfully starved for more details of their story.  I think the mythology they’ve constructed around the thin skeleton of the MegaMan games is awesome and exceptional.

And if there’s any way you can make it to a live Protomen show, I highly recommend it.  They were great at Nerdapalooza and I still have some slim hope of attending their Act II CD release show in Nashville on the 25th.  If it’s even half as epic as they describe, missing this show will be a dreadful mistake.

The Protomen – The Good Doctor
The Protomen – Breaking Out
The Protomen – Here Comes The Arm

Official Site (includes links to buy)

I can’t say I understand the obsession with Mega Man in nerdy music.  I was just like most NES gamers back in the day and consumed huge quantities of games that were little more than copycats of each other.  In my memory, many of them are indistinguishable from each other, and Mega Man is one of those games.  A platformer where the player has a cannon for a hand?  Excellent, I loved that game when it was called Metroid.  Anyway, the music…

Random has a great, laid-back quality to his delivery that is hard to resist.  Calm, rhythmic, and smooth, he’s easy to follow and immediately engaging.  Paired with some mild, fun beats laid over what I assume are loops from the game, the whole package is unchallenging in the best way, easy to approach and appreciate.

There are a few smudges on the album that I’d feel dishonest leaving unsaid.  The vocal samples, from Mega Man cartoons I have to guess, are often jarring and feel forced.  Track 5, My Love (Go Shop), features Rufus Pipes and completely disrupts the good vibe of the album.  I realize I’m biased against any sort of ballad, but regardless, the discordant vocals just stick out like a sore thumb and challenge me not to hit the skip button.

There are some ups and downs, but if you liked Mega Ran, you’ll probably like Mega Ran 9.  I did.

Random – Splash Woman
Random – My Love (Go Shop) (Feat. Rufus Pipes)
Random – Endless (Feat. Storyville)

Official Site, Buy on Amazon