Attack Decay Sustain Release
by Simian Mobile Disco

Album details

US: 11 September 2007 on Interscope
UK: 18 June 2007 on Wichita

ADSR is the debut for the dance music spinoff of the English indie-rock band Simian, whose rhythm section (James Ford and Jas Shaw) comprise Simian Mobile Disco. Their former bandmate Simon Lord and the Go! Team’s Ninja provide vocals on a track apiece.

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The critical consensus

Regardless of whether or not you were a fan of Simian, if you like good dance music (and don’t mind some inane lyrics), you should enjoy ADSR. Many critics, at least, are on board. "Attack Decay Sustain Release has the raw flavor of the best dance records of the ’80s and ’90s," says All Music Guide, adding that the disc "shows a surprising amount of subtlety and flair." NME calls it "the definitive sound of now," while the Voice prefers ADSR to Justice’s debut, and Pitchfork adds, "What makes SMD a better pop band than Justice or the Klaxons is their commitment to clean danceable beats … and lighthearted and immediate hooks." Exclaim! calls it "a pulsating album revving with heavy synth distortion and copious kaleidoscopic hooks," while the BBC, too, is impressed: "The risk-taking of their live sets is captured masterfully in this edifying, indispensable album."

"Attack supplies nothing too complicated or heady, just primal party fun," states Entertainment Weekly. PopMatters, too, is in a party mood, noting that while ADSR "is not the full-fledged underground dance-revolution many were expecting," the album "remains one of the most guaranteed party starters this side of Girl Talk." Drowned In Sound says that the album works as intended–to make you dance: "No one can accuse SMD of trying to be profound – instead they’ve created something pretty, something vacant, and something which is instilled with a joyous physicality." Aversion, however, is among those who feel that the album isn’t just for soundtracking your next dance party: "There’s enough twists, turns and curveballs on this album to keep it from getting stale, even when you’ve sobered up and aren’t in a dancing mood."

Artist Direct, on the other hand, cannot fully commit to the album, determining, "Ultimately the trouble is that Simian Mobile Disco is all muscle and no heart, and after all, like the ironic retro aesthetic, it gets a bit old after a while." MusicOMH (in an otherwise positive review) says that ADSR lacks flow, and notes that "although each track is flawless and an enjoyable listen, the album is absent of any true wow factor," while Urb similarly notes some "choice cuts" but finds "there’s no cohesion to hold it together." Dotmusic feels that newcomers to SMD will probably be happy, but fans will be disappointed, given the lack of solid new material and the inclusion of inferior versions of previously-released singles–an opinion seconded by Slant, which complains that "the new tracks seem either rushed or cobbled together." Stylus deems the album a failure as a result of the poor production that is "lacking in detail and depth, so over-inflated and etch-a-sketched in timbre, that it’s almost unlistenable on anything but the most rudimentary of laptop speakers." Hot Press finds ADSR both "abrasive" and "draining," and The Guardian calls the album grating, concluding that it is "a disappointing sequence of interesting ideas, inexpertly executed."

Raucous enough for the indie-electro set and just slick enough for Ibiza, expect to hear this everywhere.

- Tony Naylor, NME

Review roundup

Tracklisting and media

1. Sleep Deprivation
2. I Got This Down
3. It’s The Beat
   
   
4. Hustler
   
   
5. Tits & Acid
6. I Believe
   
   
7. Hotdog
8. Wooden
9. Love
10. Scott
11. Clock
12. System

Also on the web

• Official Artist Site
• Simian Mobile Disco @ MySpace