Pitchfork

Ideally, a band should get better as it goes along, finds itself, and carves out a sound of its own. This is exactly what Imitation Electric Piano, a project helmed by Stereolab bassist Simon Johns, has done over the course of three releases. You could say any band led by a member of an institution as venerable as Stereolab had an unfair advantage as far as that's concerned, but Johns and his mates have impressively outdone themselves here, moving further out of Stereolab's orbit and pulling off the seemingly impossible task of getting more focused while also expanding the range of their sound beyond its electro-jazz core.

A big part of the band's overall improvement can be attributed to the addition of Mary Hampton on vocals and a bit of organ. She has a high, somewhat fragile voice, not entirely unlike that of the late, deeply missed Mary Hansen of Stereolab, and she gives the band an axis to revolve around that they haven't quite had before. She also blends well with Johns, especially on the largely wordless "Come Into Force", where they circle each other like dancers, mirroring the interplay of electric guitar and harpsichord that opens the song. It's a breakneck song all around, stuffed with crunching riffs and inventively employed lead guitar.

Rock muscle is more on display here than on previous releases, as Johns and Andrew Blake crank up the distortion and move the guitars onto an equal footing with the buzzing organ that otherwise dominates the music. Johns recorded most of the backing tracks, and as you might imagine, the bass sounds fantastic, giving the whole album a burbling, swinging low-end full of melodic phrases and hypnotic repetition. This, along with the swift drumming of Lee Adams, keeps things highly kinetic until the cover of the traditional "Leave Her, Johnny", an ominously crawling thing full of downright gruff organ that leaves you longing for a return to the sharp beats that came before it.

And you do get a return, in the form of the closing title track, which rides a fuzz guitar riff Blue Cheer would've been proud of-- it's a grooving counterpoint to the song's proggy stop/start sections and the strange, droning vocal harmonies that lead it. It also ends things on a very promising note, displaying a growing ambition that could put this band over the top. As it is, they've made a very fine record in Blow it Up... and established themselves as a great deal more than just a side project.