Delete Yourself

Presentación del Álbum

Delete Yourself! is ground zero for Atari Teenage Riot and Digital Hardcore. Alec Empire and company blend ultra-fast jungle, quasi-political screaming, and anime samples into an angry, noisy mix of fun; it really is hard to call Atari Teenage Riot anything more than a fun diversion. Delete Yourself! is quite harmless, never getting into anything more political than calling people Nazis. How's that for an obvious target? For all of the shouting and machine abuse, Delete Yourself! is remarkably tame. "Kids Are United !" isn't much of a call for revolution. There's an overall tinny sound to the song and most of the other tracks, which keeps the music from being the dynamic beast it could have been. Constant boasting that "Atari Teenage Riot is number one" gets old over 12 songs. Throw in a rather lame imitation of Laika on "Sex" and a somewhat unsuccessful sampling of the Sex Pistols on "Delete Yourself! You Got No Chance to Win!," and Atari Teenage Riot seem to be grasping at straws for an original sound. Artists such as Kid 606 have taken the blueprint set by Atari Teenage Riot and made it personal and political; Kid 606's mantra of "Free Kevin Mitnick" on Down With the Scene packs more interest and fire into one song that Atari Teenage Riot did on the entirety of Delete Yourself! The album isn't nearly as shocking or innovative as it purports to be, in large part due to the boasting and insincerity inherent in the band's attack. Halfway through, the songs become self-parody. Alec Empire's solo release, The Destroyer, actually puts Atari Teenage Riot's debut to shame, presenting fierce, demented jungle. Delete Yourself! is fun, but it screams zeitgeist more than riot, as it lacks emotion and payoff.

© Tim DiGravina /TiVo