Album Review: Let’s Go To War – Karmageddon

We can all admire a group who don’t conform to the varying drawbacks of genre; Let’s Go To War like to mix it up, and in their recipe, they’ve blended electro, reggae, breakbeat, and hip-hop tinged pop with lashings of autotune, and beats big enough to make Basshunter blush.

So, what’s the problem?

The problem is that the record ultimately feels like a soundtrack; a sound-scape to some sleazy city; a mere background to what should be a bigger picture. The word ‘focus’ comes to mind.

Karmageddon actually has as much substance as a processed ham sandwich, and the latter is probably less likely to leave you feeling ill and dissatisfied afterwards.

For the 38 minute entirety of the record, we’re sonically volleyed all over the place. Starting with some harsh, pounding bass whilst the vocals annoyingly re-iterate the title, Burn Down The Disco into our brains.

We finish with Maybelline, which is one of those typical, tacked on ballads which undermines everything that’s preceded it in a conglomerate of cliché and sickly pop sentiment.

Single, Wolves boasts a compelling and glitch-tastic dance beat which is layered underneath poppy female vocals; remove the awful crunk verse (the only thing that ties this poor, defenceless ugly duckling to the 9 beastly geese remaining) and we might be left with somethin’ special.

For the rest of the record, LGTW manage to fire off laser-guided clichés with a trigger happy finger into every space available — penultimate track Drivin’ is actually pretty funky, with stabbing horns, and a half decent hook there too, it’s actually a shame that the vocals are so unforgivably grating.

There’s been worse. Much worse, but Let’s Go To War are proof of the age-old saying ‘don’t believe the hype’ which rings too true in their first full length offering.

Avoid.