Steve Aoki
Pillowface and His Airplane Chronicles
There is no doubt that tastemaker, scene reviver, and UCSB graduate Steve Aoki is talented. If nothing else, the kid’s got enough drive to make most twentysomethings feel like bums. But Aoki’s debut album, an all-over-the-place collection of mashups that features electro-rock, white guy hip-hop, and a boatload of in-your-face break-beats, is nowhere near as impressive as his resume would suggest. The remixes themselves (Justice’s “Waters of Nazareth” and Bloc Party’s “Helicopter” are both on the chopping block) are too frenzied to comprehend, let alone enjoy. And the guest “drops” (Mickey Avalon and Har Mar Superstar make unnecessary appearances) just add to the mess. Since the highlights (Peaches’ “Boys Wanna Be Her” and Scanners’ “Low Life”) are so few and far between, it’s barely worth the effort.
