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Nov 30, 2015 Web Exclusive By Alee Karim

I Thought the Future Would Be Cooler somehow crosses the levity of Ric Ocasek with the gravity of Annie Lennox to give us a pretty freaking spot-on document of a life spent online set to a robotic New Wave beat. This immaculate nugget of poppy perfection is almost too clinical for its own good and aesthetically, that’s not inappropriate. This is Internet music—complex, byzantine, and even nonsensical sentiments buried beneath clean, innocuous interfaces.

Though I Thought the Future Would Be Cooler is equal parts head and heart, it typically veers toward the former. Sometimes it rings like a clarion call, like the album’s hooky apex of “L.A. Plays Itself” and “I Wanna Fuck You Till I’m Dead.” More often, however, it’s a slower burn to catch YACHT’s fire. I Thought the Future Would Be Cooler often demands a more careful listen to perceive riches inside those aforementioned innocuous interfaces, as on “The Entertainment,” whose sheen radiates almost exclusively from a stunning bridge meditating on the interaction that occurs through the “second screen.” It’s an erudite snapshot of this particular cultural moment buried (sometimes too) deeply in a safe dance-pop veneer. (www.teamyacht.com)

Author rating: 6.5/10