By Mita Tate

Volcano, I’m Still Excited!!…well, we wish we could say the same about this New York band’s debut self-titled release, but like so many other throwback budget new wave acts, they prove that a Casio and not-so-clever overused cliches are not the way to listeners’ hearts.

The story behind Volcano, I’m Still Excited!! is probably more exciting than anything this release has to offer. In 1998, Lead vocalist, Mark Duplass released his debut album Small Hands. After a successful acoustic US tour, he was signed to Polygram’s Mercury Records and released another solo album to moderate success. While working on his next release, Duplass was diagnosed with a severe case of tendonitis in both arms and doctors informed him he would never play guitar again.

He enrolled in City College of New York at Harlem to study music composition. During this time he came across a used Casio and purchased it for $10. It was the only instrument he could play pain free and without damaging his wrists. He wrote songs and sent them to friends who he wanted to perform with him. Named after Tom Hanks’ flop Joe Versus the Volcano, the end result became Volcano, I’m Still Excited!! featuring Mark Duplass on vocals and keyboards, Craig Montoro on guitar and John Thomas Robinette III on drums. Oh if only the music they chose to put out was 1/10 as exciting than their biography they could very well be the next Rapture.

Unlike their long-named counterparts, Godspeed You! Black Emperor and …And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead, this band has nothing to offer the listener except empty pop expressions that aren’t even catchy and are often forgettable.

There’s nothing wrong with a short, sweet pop song, but the problem with Volcano, I’m Still Excited!! is that the listener is left feeling unsatisfied. As one reviewer puts it, “[the songs] are more like unfinished bedroom projects than proper songs.”

Despite the 16 grating tracks, there is only one that can be considered passable. A cross between The Shins’ “Saint Simon” and Mates of State’s “A Duel Will Settle This,” “Mostly On An Island” is perhaps the album’s only redeeming factor. Sadly, most listeners won’t get that far to even hear it.