Spun: The Robocop Kraus

By Jon Roe

Even with new wave’s resurgence in the last few years, it’s hard to find any standout bands. Though most of these new wave bands, like the Killers or Bloc Party, have catchy songs, it seems like they’re just reviving the ’80s and bringing nothing original to the table. The Robocop Kraus take their own stab at new wave with their fourth full length album, They Think They Are the Robocop Kraus, resulting in–surprise–something everyone’s heard before.

They Think They Are the Robocop Kraus is a fairly solid effort and an enjoyable listen with several superb tracks like “Small House Odd Cars” and “Life Amazes Us Despite Our Miserable Future.” Still, the album fails to bring an original twist to the new wave movement. This album could’ve easily been released in the ’80s and wouldn’t have looked out of place.

The Robocop Kraus are a talented band and it shows on They Think They Are the Robocop Kraus. Unfortunately, they use their talent to retrace well-worn footsteps, reproducing music from 20 years ago, even though they are fully capable of producing an original album.