Robots In Disguise

Sassy campfire electro for former Breeders fans

(Recall) All these aggressive women with their retro monotone shouting and blue eyeliner overload got you thinking about starting a band with your girlfriend? Well, lose that notion right now, unless you happen to have two girlfriends and they can perfectly harmonize like this tasty two from Liverpool.

Like all of your favorite twee-indie girls from the days of yore, these robots know how to write a song, which is why you'll be humming the hooks from "Boys" and "DIY" long after you've gotten past the ironic '80s cover art. In fact, with the sophisticated production of Sneaker Pimps main man Chris Corner behind them, these analog-rich tunes sound more Throwing Muses than Larry Tee. Robots in Disguise are the wheat amidst the electroclash chaff. Grab an acoustic guitar and find a screensaver to sing around. - Joshua Glazer

If Robert Smith, Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Slits made love in Kraftwerk's tweaky-warpy laboratory, their hybrid children would be Robots in Disguise. The pixie punk-rock duo happily gallivant over society's notions of what it means to be a woman, while alternating their delivery across the spectrum of punk-heavy guitar riffs, sweet and folksy lyrics, deeply layered synths and drum machine bits. Self-described as modern feminists disguised as robots, RID expel their unapologetic examination of life, most particularly anything and everything to do with boys. Lush lyrics reveal an intense mantra of "Do It Yourself," merged with poignant cross-examination of the perils of trusting others before oneself. And RID's unique hybrid of electro-pop-rock-punk channels an otherwise lo-fi retro sound into a happily danceable beat that's delivered with ultimate teenage angst. If you're going to own anything remotely electro, buy a copy of Robots in Disguise. - Deana Morgan

Electro tongues' refreshing sounds

Electro is over, but true talent never goes out of style. Sue Denim and Dee Plume are cheeky vocalists, and although their music (programmed/produced by Sneaker Pimps' Chris Corner) organizes streamlined synth pop around common electro, the songs entertain much more than the style. The opening track, "Boys," with its early New Order-esque bass, speaks of "skinny hips" and "sex: we like, we like." It's a bull's-eye '80s flashback that paves the way for aromatic tracks recalling The Cure and Sahara Hotnights. This foul-mouthed sister act has a future. 4/5 **** - Ken Micallef

Like Black Box Recorder meets Human League, only better.****
-J.J. and J.S. - June/July 2004

I AM X + Robots in Disguise + Scratch Massive
Tribeca Grand Hotel, 10pm-3am

While he claims to be X, I Am X is really ex-Sneaker Pimps Chris Corner. He's here to help the U.K.'s Recall label launch in the U.S., and he's joined by the female electro-pop duo Robots in Disguise. Normally, right here is where we'd be making some dumb electroclash joke, but these two Englishwomen have much more personality in their songs than most. Their self-titled CD (on Recall/Studio) has genuine pop hooks and a minimum of tomfoolery, and these Robots' live show is reputed to be an art-and-fashion blowout. - Issue 456 June 24 - July 1, 2004

Genre: Indie-Rock/Electronica
Reviewed by: Connor Alexander

With a name like "Robots in Disguise" you might be expecting some bleeping blooping Electroclash retread. That would be a big mistake. These two girls are anything but copycats. Sure, they use synthesizers, and their big anthem 'Boys' is an electro dance floor killer, but that's about as far as the comparison goes. Cool, smooth vocals reminiscent of the Breeders or Bjork, these girls cover the Indie-Electro spectrum in just ten tracks. Far from sounding chaotic though, the songs flow evenly from one to the next. The variety of instruments used is impressive as well, especially the judicious use of acoustic guitar. A couple of the tracks are less than stellar, but for the most part this album manages to be an aggressive pop version of Stereolab. 4 out of 5 mechanically mixed biscuits. - July 2004

...By incorporating elements from mid-'90s trip-hop and electronica-influenced alt-rock, Robots in Disguise sound radically different from the latest punk band who has rented a mini-Moog. Certainly strands of punk rock, synth-pop and modern day electro-punk influence their work, but the electronic sounds that Robots in Disguise borrow from seem much more modern than the typical early '80s music that most of these bands try to copy. Denim and Plume sing in a way that suggests a peaceful truce between the dry, unaffected vocals of Ladytron and the breathy, ethereal voices that dominated trip-hop during its salad days. Maybe the presence of Sneaker Pimp Chris Corner pushes the band into a more trip-hop direction, but the band seems comfortable enough with the genre to use it as a base for their stylistic experimentations. Nearly every song features at least one brilliant bit. The vocals on "D.I.Y.", yes the song where they sing about their art, are haunting and seductive in a way that brings to mind Elizabeth Fraser at her most accessible. "Bed Scenes" features a viciously distorted bass line designed to seduce listeners into turning the stereo up to a speaker-decimating volume, while "50 Minutes" shifts dramatically from a sleep-inducing verse into a menacing chorus consisting of Denim and Plume singing "50 minutes / 52 weeks / Four years" over and over again with greater and greater intensity. - by Hunter Felt

Like Stereolab, only not pompous. Like Kraftwerk and Bowie, only fresh. Like Catpower, only warmer and sweet. Two girls exploring the limitless possibilities of electronica. ****1/2 EVERETT TRUE - Melody Maker OCT 2000

A diabolical pentagramme which creates a link between The Slits, Gary Numan, Bis, Toyah and Wire. - NME

"I play the super-group fantasy / I paint white the stains on the floor / Waiting for the world to come to me." Such is the curious and ominous proto-language of this duo of self-professed modern feminist electro-poppers. Claiming to be robots disguised as human punkettes, the band stages their live shows as a sort of performance art, and must be given their proper due for having such studied conceptual pretensions. (Imagine that--a band with a philosophy!). The engaging tunes are a cross of art-funk fervor and retro-synth chirpiness, delivered in a fashionably disaffected manner. Charming. KEN SCRUDATO - SOMA Vol. 18.6 - Summer 2004 Music Issue