User:Lousy Robot

Lousy Robot
Lousy Robot is a five piece indie-pop band based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 2003 by Jim Phillips and Dandee Fleming, the quintet quickly became a local favorite within the live music scene of the Southwest.

Their critically acclaimed first release, The Strange and True Story of Your Life, is an enigmatic, narcotic effort influenced and produced by John Dufilho of The Deathray Davies.

Lousy Robot's second release, one year later, Smile Like You Are Somewhere Else, was a further collaboration between the band and Dufilho at Salim Nourallah's Pleasantry Lane Studio in Dallas, Texas. The collection of introspective pop songs features special guests Cory Watson of Black Tie Dynasty and John Lefler of Dashboard Confessional.

Lousy Robot is well known for creating catchy, noisy, post-punk songs aimed at the cynical, yet somehow resonating with the hopeful. Online magazine Wig Wam Bam says of Lousy Robot: " ... pop heaven and the happiest music ever about feeling so bad.”

Their music (“The Man Who Has Everything" and “Welcome All to My Weird Awakening”) has been featured on MTV's "Parental Control."

Lousy Robot's current line up is Jim Phillips, Dandee Fleming, Jack Moffitt, Ben Levine and Shawn Crowley

Press:

BlueMag.com (June, 2005): The Strange and True Story of Your Life is a breezy, well-crafted indie pop record rooted more in the fuzzy melodies of 80's college rock than the melodic bombast and experimentation of current bands like the New Pornographers and Broken Social Scene.

The Albuquerque Journal (May 13, 2005): I finally received the debut recording from local indie pop darlings Lousy Robot and I couldn't be happier. Titled "The Strange and True Story of Your Life," the disc glimmers with a certain late '60s pop sensibility that has been filtered through a 1984 MTV video and remanufactured by a corporation run by J Mascis. Guitar hooks upon guitar hooks gracefully glide over tempered rhythms and understated vocals. The songs play so smoothly it's as if the group is recording while kicking back in beanbags. With such lengthy and quirky titles as "Watercolor Sundown Everythings," "Deep Inside A Real Big Empty" and "Not So Happy With Not So Much," this release, produced by John Dufilho (The Deathray Davies), is a pair of bright headlights in an otherwise dark forest. It could make even the most bitter souls (i.e. music critics) embrace pop music wholeheartedly.

Dallas Music Guide (www.dallasmusicgauide.com; February, 2005): Lousy Robot is a band that sounds totally different than the way they look. Hearing them, you expect to see ocean-frizzed curly-haired surf punks or maybe ‘60s mods, but instead you get a bunch of good ol' boys sounding all of nineteen. They play youthful pleasing pop perfect for a sunny afternoon bopping around the pool. It's the opposite of emo; it's the happy punk of the late ‘80s with depressing lyrics and fun melodies. “Train Wreck” takes you back to the dance clubs of England circa '66. It's got that Monkee-ish bounce to it that makes you wanna do the swim. They even take lyrics of totally awkward small talk and covert it into a song you can immediate sing along with ... Lousy Robot combines that happy feeling from southern California and mixes it up with some old English beats and heads to the mall. If New Wave is back, this isn't far behind ...

Wig Wam Bam #64 (www.wigwambam.org): Specifics first: the recorded version of No Big Deal is heart-rendingly beautiful and for that reason alone puts this demo at the top my list. List of what? Any list, every list, whatever. But there's plenty more to get happy over. Together Somehow is like the best Archies cover you've ever heard if Archie finally realized he lost sweetheart Betty over a bitch like Veronica. And clocking in at a crisp 2:02, its pop perfection. The disc is pop heaven and the happiest music ever about feeling so bad. I guess one isn't really supposed to review an unfinished rough mix since it isn't exactly what the band wants the general public to hear. But since this is the best demo of the year, who cares. This is kindler gentler Lousy Robot. Yes, you heard right: that's Lousy Robot who aren't exactly known for junkie stupors or napalm death killing sprees so you may ask how could they possibly get any kinder and gentler? The answer is, very well.The vocals roll out as easily as Mr Smoothie himself Chris Issak, the pop hooks are right there but comfortably insinuate themselves into your ears instead of grabbing you by the collar. Its Sunday morning Lousy Robot and I don't mean hangover Sunday morning but sitting back at ease Sunday morning: the aroma of bacon and toast and eggs wafting, you're casually reading the paper with some cutie who just spent the night with you and you don't have to be anywhere for hours and maybe it wouldn't be so bad if you missed that appointment anyway.