Way back in 2007, !!! (pronounced CHK-CHK-CHK) released Myth Takes, a album replete with funky and addictive beats that was almost universally well-received. Coupled with an energetic live show and a few of their tracks appearing in video games and Adult Swim ads, it seemed like they'd finally attained the popular recognition they deserved. In the intervening years, singer John Pugh left to work on his other band Free Blood, and drummer Jerry Fuchs tragically passed away. These events no doubt affected the remaining band members, who made a pilgrimage to Germany in search of a new sound. Was theirs a Beatles-esque adventure to fresh and exciting sonic avenues?

Not really.

What may have been an attempt to look forward has ended up as a decidedly retro album. The album leans heavily on 70's funk, at times sounding uncomfortably like grooves their tour mates Red Hot Chilli Peppers  once used when people cared about that band, at others like the scuzzy schizophrenia of Ariel Pink. The combination is neither as danceable as the former, or as crazy as the latter.  Listening to the album from start to finish is a dull, yet confusing affair. The sound production is impeccable, there's plenty of good hooks in every track, and Nic Offer sounds as good as he ever did. It's like baking two cakes from the same recipe and finding that the second one is terrible. All the basics are there, but the end product doesn't work. Whatever else happened in those three years, !!! have lost their secret ingredient.

There is one notable exception. The closing track "The Hammer" is one hell of a slow burn, smoothly incorporating low Kraftwerkian beats into hand clap samples and a vocal line that's simple but effortless catchy, like all of  !!!' s best work. Dedicated fans will want to get this simply for the final track (which is good enough that it makes the rest of the album mystifyingly disappointing by contrast) but everyone else should steer clear.

Review Score: 4/10