Disco de Groove Armada: “Soundboy Rock [Bonus Track]”

I really dig this album. As usual with GA it's hit and miss but the hits really make up for the misses in this one!

Soundboy Rock, like the latest (excellent) GA release Black Light, is consistently listenable from beginning to end, which probably can't be said for too many electronic/dance CDs. Although it often shifts moods and styles considerably from track to track, each track easily stands alone and yet still sounds like an important part of the whole.

I discovered Groove Armada when I heard Superstylin' on an internet radio station. This album is all over the place in terms of musical style. It mostly reminds me of Len, and NERD. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Being a long time Groove Armada fan, and following them through all the twists and turns in their career, I was really excited when this new album was coming out. Now that I have the album... my excitement has ended.

"Get Down" (the lead single) is horrible. I mean it's cool to sound retro, but it should sound like GOOD old things, not garbage old things. It sounds like the Basement Jaxx "Jump'N'Shout" if it had been made by complete amateurs. "Get Down" would do well to look at its sister track "Things We Could Share" which gets the retro feel very right and is one of the few great tracks on this album, the others being "Girls Say" and... that's about it.

I know that every time an artist goes in a new direction or a new album comes out, there is always a segment of its fanbase that hates it. Unfortunately I guess that's me in this case. I'll still go see them live if they ever decide to grace Chicago with their presence again, but this album is a large failure in my book.

Aside from the above mentioned two tracks, stay far away from this album.

WTF?! Groove Armada was one of those artists that you could feel safe you weren't wasting your hard earned $$$ on their CDs. That ASSumption just went out the door. I don't even think teeny bopper bands are this bad.

Save your money. If you can't resist, at least download it instead.