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Written by Katie Bordner Friday, 24 March 2006 08:00

The band has a more than subtle touch of Euro references. With songs about the Red Square, Amsterdam, and Kafka’s existentialistic views (see track nine, happily titled “Life Amazes Us Despite Our Miserable Future”), it’s more bratwurst than weenie.

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Every morning since I’ve gotten They Think They Are Robocop Kraus, I wake up, take a shower, drink my vitamin-enriched breakfast beverage, get in the car to go to work, and rock the fuck out to this CD. I am that crazy driver moving her shoulders, bobbing her head, and probably obliviously causing accidents all around. This happens on the way home, to the grocery store, and other general out-and-aboutness. It has become my vehicle soundtrack.

I digress. They Think They Are Robocop Kraus is the fifth full-length for Robocop Kraus. While at first listen they might seem like everyone else (Talking Heads, Devo, Franz Ferdinand, the Futureheads, the Faint—I could go on and on), you can’t say that they are just piggybacking the dance-rock genre. In fact, they’ve been around for more than 10 years. The basic music concepts might be cliché, but their delivery is fresh sweat packed with energy.

Hailing from Germany, Robocop Kraus creates a deep anxious tone backed by keyboards, pick-quick guitar licks, claps, “uh huh”s, and dance beats…all delivered with stern faces. (If you’re thinking The Big Lebowski’s nihilist ferret-packing, keyboard-toting Flea stereotype, you’re on my wavelength.)

The CD is a full powerhouse of songs. The triumph of the album, “In Fact You’re Just Fiction,” does no wrong. It checks everything off the Awesome List: synthesizers, cowbells, falsetto backing, and a bitching dance break. It’s only missing a neon sign that reads “neo-retro dance tunes commence now!” (It’s time for a new label for music that isn’t already in the MySpace genre selection.)

They Think They Are Robocop Kraus has a more than subtle touch of Euro references, another characteristic of neo-retro. With songs about the Red Square, Amsterdam, and Kafka’s existentialistic views (see track nine, happily titled “Life Amazes Us Despite Our Miserable Future”), it’s more bratwurst than weenie.

Who do they think they are? Neo-retro kings Robocop Kraus.