Mushroomrobot – 19.5 Collective

As could be expected from a six-person collective working in the one-man-band world of electronic music, the 19.5 Collective's third album is a busy affair. Still, it doesn't have anywhere near the sequencer-timed explosions of IDM forerunner Plaid, which seems to be the most obvious benchmark for this album. That means there are endless bleeps, sweeps, and creeps playing across the synthetic fields. Actually, Mushroomrobot is probably more concise than its elders, no doubt because the various members still think of music as if they're in a live band, with every player's part clearly spelled out. And those sonic restrictions make tracks like "Mushroomrobot" and "They Just Left" easily digestible even when the band attempts to push the abstract. The two drum'n'bass attempts don't fare so well, coming off as boys playing around with a man's genre. And the overly eager vocal samples that pop in and out of the album show that a level of quiet confidence is yet to be achieved. Still, this is certainly their most advanced record to date, and Mushroomrobot proves that the 19.5 Collective have what it takes to be contenders. ~ Joshua Glazer, All Music Guide