Trans Am - Liberation

Because they come from DC, it was almost inevitable that Trans Am would end up making a political album at some point. Liberation, their seventh full album, is that point. Because of the political overtones, the record reminds me a lot of Emergency Broadcast Network (EBN). Both bands take sound bites from their respective President Bush (EBN uses George Herbert while Trans Am takes Dubya) and manipulate them in such a way that the bands' politics are clear as a bell. The major difference to me between the two is that while EBN needs visuals to back up their music, Trans Am’s music stands quite competently on its own. Since forming Trans Am in 1993, Nathan Means (bass, keyboards, vocals), Phil Manley (guitar, keyboards, bass, vocals) and Sebastian Thompson (drums, vocals, bass, guitar, programming) have always enjoyed confusing the critics with their ever-changing style. And to say that this is simply a political record would do the band a disservice. Just because they have something to say doesn't mean that all of the focus is on the statement while the music is ignored. Far from it! Liberation is an electronic schmorgasbord of rippling sensory delights, tight beats and otherworldly melodies. Many of the 14 tracks are instrumentals. Lyrics in general on the record are very sparse or consist entirely of sound bites. The music is very capable of being taken on its own merit. “White Rhino” is probably the most bizarre song to me on the disc. It begins with a weather report that becomes stretched and distorted into a machine-like whine and drone alternately. I don’t really understand it, but it makes me want to find out what the message is behind the song. What is the point they are trying to get across, or am I looking for some meaning that simply isn’t there? And is that the point after all? It’s not a song that I like particularly, but it has me thinking, and either way you look at it, that’s not a bad thing. “Divine Invasion II” is a dark instrumental that showcases sirens that actually sounded outside Trans Am’s studio during their live recording sessions. The inclusion is entirely in keeping with the political mood of the album. Most impressively sweeping and beautiful is “Is Trans Am Really Your Friend?” This song combines rich, undulating electronic melody and a steady soft backing drum beat in a way that is very reminiscent of “A Forest,” which just happens to be my favorite Cure song. It seems almost out of place, but perhaps the poignancy of the track is there as an evocative reminder of the calm before the storm we live in today. The most blatant example of political content on Liberation comes quickly in the second track on the disc, “Uninvited Guest.” Thunderous applause begins the track and Dubya speaks: “Our commitment to weapons of mass destruction is America’s tradition.” I think you can figure out where Trans Am is going with this. More and more spliced comments continue, and Bush’s voice become more and more distorted, more and more demonic, finishing with the ominous statement, “We have witnessed the arrival of a new era: The beginning of the end of America.” More thunderous applause closes the track. Liberation is a powerful record, not for the faint of heart (or members of the radical right for that matter). But if you’re looking for something that will entertain you while subtly, and sometimes not so subtly, making you think, this is a really good disc. The irony and allegory is there, but there is plenty of musical substance to make the experience not so much of a political diatribe but more a thought provoking musical experience. [www.brainwashed.com]