Bobgoblin sounds like an early 80's band. My editor told me that before I received this CD. I mumbled that when I popped it in the player, and my wife said, "What is that 80's stuff?" when I went to review it. So, the concensus is in. Not that The Twelve-Point Master Plan is bad. It's actually pretty good. Imagine Frank Black forming a band to play Devo and Cheap trick covers, and you've pretty much got Bobgoblin figured out.
Like current 80's throwbacks The Presidents of the United States of America, Bobgoblin is goofy, guitar driven, and uniform clad. The bio describes the band as a futuristic group of rock soldiers in the Liberation Front States Motor Forces, and each of the band members has their pack number embroidered on their uniform. (You can travel to www.bobgoblin.com for a more detailed briefing.)
Bobgoblin has gone to a lot of effort creating a very strange image for themselves. If DEVO hadn't dreamed up their own world of de-evolution, Bobgoblin's little fantasy might seem original. Basically, they're just the same bunch of disenchanted, idealistic, DIY rockers that have always been out there. The lyrics steal a little emotion from The Descendents "Suburban Home" and pretty much anything involving Henry Rollins.
Suicide is covered in "One Down, One Across", and gun nuts get it in "Nine." "Pinata" relates the story of an oppressed "boy with a candy inside" who gets hung from a rope and beat with a stick. The chorus flip flops between guitar crunches and a "Pinata!" shout out. The Twelve Point Master Plan ends with a bossanova beat caressing the song "Killer." Lead singer Sgt. Hop Manski sings blithely "there's no time to ask him 'Why...Why...Why-hy-hy-hyyyyyyy'".
Fortunately, Bobgoblin's obsession with being members of the LFSMF doesn't creep into their music or lyrics. The sound is a bombastic crunch of deep guitar and bass. Simple little hooks bounce up and down, and stop just short of inducing a mosh fit in your brain. Instead, the effect produced is similar to the back and forth head bopping caused by a DEVO tune. At times, the album is a bit linear, and one song is tough to distinguish from the rest. Frank Black and his dearly departed Pixies are represented with "Oh-Ah" backing vocals and melodic interludes between the punchy guitars. Even little bits of The Cars come through in "Close You Eyes, Kids".
By the end of The Twelve Point Master Plan, it's unclear why Bobgoblin seems so interested in the story line they've created for themselves. Bobgoblin's music has some potential, and it will be interesting to see if the story line turns into a video that kids will latch onto or not. But short of that, the uniform is just a distraction from this better-than- average release.
