Customer Reviews

Idealism

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Personally, techno has to be really great in order for me to buy it. After seeing Digitalism's video for 'Pogo' I was hooked right away. The catchy song is impossible to get out of your head. Looking for good beats? Check out the album's first track 'magnets'. The beats pulse in your vanes, driving you to dance. I highly recommend this to any dance/techno fan.

I'm glad I found Digitalism. It's definitely a more upbeat party-type of electronic music, and I absolutely love it. If you like Daft Punk you'll totally love this. I'm trying to figure out for myself if I actually like it more...

80's new wave and rock have obviously left their stamp on these adorable geeks with delicious gadgets and instruments. I saw them at Coachella and their live shows live up to the great awe of their music. Much like the great French electric duos such as Daft Punk and the new Justice, Digitalism makes heavy/industrial influenced music (probably inspired by legendary artists like Dieselboy, Venetian Snares, VNV Nation) happy, fun, and full of awesomeness.

I think this CD is great. Sure, some songs are not that good, but some like magnets, anything new, the pulse and echoes are really worth the while. I like the acid electro-punk side those songs have.

I'm definitely keeping an eye on this group.

Yeah, I know that isn't a word, but I have German duo Digitalism and their album Idealism in front of me, so I thought I'd just add another -ism to fit in. Anyway, this album is pretty solid.

I don't know why, but when I first heard the name Digitalism, I thought it referred to an underground rapper. At any rate, there are nice danceable tracks like "Jupiter Room", "Zdarlight" (good luck trying to pronounce that) and "The Pulse". And while the cut-up sample of the Cure's "Fire in Cairo" for "Digitalism in Cairo" seems a little lazy, its counterpart "Departure from Cairo" fares much better.

I didn't really care for the opening track "Magnets" either. While I think it's too soon to compare Digitalism to Daft Punk, Idealism is still ideal for fans of house music.

Anthony Rupert

Rough around the edges, but stronger for it, Digitalism's debut IDEALISM treads after Daft Punk with eager steps. "Magnets," for instance, layers the vocoders under the influence of heavy electro, retaining a harmonic element all the while. "Zdarlight" carries an obvious homage to the Motorbass co-founder in the title and the driving beat, while "I Want I Want" lets the rock elements carry the energy. The acid electro is reminiscent a bit of Alter Ego, but their influences also range to New Order and LCD Soundsystem on "Pogo." They bounce back and forth between rock and electronics, ever restless, and that perhaps keeps the album interesting. The chanting on "Homezone," for instance, shakes up the proceedings, while "Echoes" takes things back out on the electro note. Digital, yes. Ideal? Not quite, but getting close.

Firstly, a few words on my general tastes: Nick Drake, Elliott Smith, Jeff Buckley, Elbow are a few names to give you a general idea. So this is not a review from a fan of electronic music.
But I needed something to work out to that was often wordless. Idealism by Digitalism, along with Sound of Silver by LCD Soundsystem, have been the two mainstays for working out. Digitalism is especially great. I've tried out Daft Punk, Justice, MSTRKRFT, as those seem like the most suggested groups for Digitalism fans, but none of them are on the level of idealism. This is a five star not on a pure musical level, but for its ability to push me every time I work out.

Its not the album is bad, it just lacks that of what five star albums seem to have. I think the track echos gave the album potential (that's in fact the song that made me buy it...) however the rest of the album does little more than bring it all down. Its tracks arnt bad, in that you want to turn the song off, but their just moot in that you somewhat want to skip the song after a few tracks or having listened to it before. Once again, its not a bad album, but its not a great one either, it earns a solid 3 in my book, moot, not offensive or striking - just sort of emotionless.

Favorite Song, Echos.

I have to admit, when I first heard Digitalism, I thought they sounded an awful lot like Daft Punk, but I wondered why they were using the same lead singer. I did some research and found out they were an indie, German, electro-garage band duo called Digitalism.

There is a slight difference in style between the two. Whereas Daft Punk is more hip hop/r&b/indie rock and pop, Digitalism is hard rock/indie combined with electro. Digitalism uses a live drummer for all their tracks combined with electronic samples. Digitalism uses a lead singer more than Daft Punk (who sometimes features guest vocalists on their album.

Although the album tracks were a bit hit-n-miss, the ones that were fun, were really enjoyable. I loved were "I Want, I want", "Pogo" and a few others. I know some have rated "Anything New" as "crap", but it's one of my favorite tracks on the album. It's opening was a killer rock/electron opening with an addictive hook.

I know that it won't be everyone's cup of tea, but there are really good tracks on this album that are great.

This is one of those albums that you put on as background noise at a party. It all sounds relatively different but I can guarantee no one will ask you what it is. I'm not exactly sure what sound Digitalism is attempting to create. Their sound defies just one genre (which can be considered positive to some) but sadly all of it is extremely bland and lackluster. My track ratings;

1. Magnets 5/10
2. Zdarlight 2/10
3. I Want I Want 1/10
4. Idealistic 2/10
5. Digitalism In Cairo 1/10
6. Departure From Cairo 2/10
7. Pogo 1/10
8. Moonlight 2/10
9. Anything New 1/10
10. The Pulse 2/10
11. Home Zone 1/10
12. Apollo-Gize 1/10
13. Jupiter Approach 2/10
14. Jupiter Room (Martian Assault Mix) 9/10 - The only redeeming track I found on the whole album
15. Echoes 2/10

With elements of disco, indie rock, electronic and other genres, Digitalism is trying too hard to differentiate itself. Which honestly fails to deliver anything new or original. If you're looking for a groundbreaking sound, you'd best look elsewhere.