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Album Details

• Artist: Pendulum
• Album: In Silico
• Label: Atlantic
• Year of Release: 2008
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: sinist3r-punk on 2011-03-12

It's amazing what a few simple additions can do for an album. Things have drastically improved for Pendulum since their debut, Hold Your Colour. The band has continued their trademark funked up techno rhythms and spliced in a touch of vocal prowess to open up In Silico to its truest potential. It seems that Pendulum have been brushing up on their clairvoyance. I gave Hold Your Colour some flack for being a bit long, which at 77 minutes, is a decent length for a movie, not so great for an album. In Silico is barely 57 minutes long, which is a perfect length for the sound they are trying to achieve. So Pendulum has already erased the biggest problem I had with their debut, but will that open the way for bigger and more pronounced issues with their latest release?

Most of the songs on In Silico don't seem to drag on like previous songs. While there are a few that seem a bit repetitive, "9,000 Miles", tracks like "Showdown" and "Different" kick it into high gear and bust some serious electronorock ass. "Different" is classic Pendulum beats with Muse like vocals and a hint of auto tune before it became clichéd and worn out. "Showdown" is perfect for psyching yourself up to punch out an angry bear. Perhaps my favorite track, "Propane Nightmares" starts with a horn and guitar duo, pleasantly reminiscent of certain Quentin Tarantino movies. The most important thing is that the vocals never overpower the beats; they mesh to an almost perfect degree.

Could this be the direction Pendulum continues to explore? They might lose some fans that are stuck permanently in Drum and Bass, but their ability to merge electronica and rock genres will lead to endless possibilities. Hopefully they'll explore as much as they can, because countless bands of this generation seem nailed and riveted to one and only one sound. As far as I'm concerned, Pendulum have stolen my heart with the balls to be different and if you lose yourself in the music, In Silico will have you jumping for joy right onto the Pendulum bandwagon.

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