Strange Behavior

about this album

Opener “We Don’t Belong” sounds like a crushing break-up song, given its moody lyrics (“You’re pulling me close to you every time I turn to go”), but it’s about the alienation wrought by technological advancement. After a few minutes of drum-machine battery, it careens toward a red alert: That siren wail—the song’s devastating pinnacle—could be a rallying call for computer slaves to unshackle themselves and break shit. This is probably one to see live. Track No. 2, “Revival,” is far from a comedown. Industrial-tinged and doused in distortion, it roars without baring its claws. What follows is not always as powerful. There are flirtations with darkwave, a foray into dark folk, and of course, an overwhelming indebtedness to My Bloody Valentine, JaMC, Boo Radleys, Lush, et al. But some songs sound incomplete. “Stay Asleep” is Cure-gloomy, but hampered by Jake Reid’s undeveloped vocals; “My Confession” is haunting but plodding. Both could use a few more minutes in the oven. When Screen Vinyl Image goes all in, though, it’s abundantly clear. “New Visions,” previously released on 2010’s Ice Station cassette EP and this year’s Siberian Eclipse 7-inch, reappears on this album in updated form. It remains one of the band’s best: swirlingly ambient with a pleasing melodic undercurrent, like a noisy rework of New Order’s “Your Silent Face.” The record closes with, believe it or not, a nod to early ’90s techno: “Night Trip” opens with a squelching acid gurgle and transforms into a go

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