Is This Hyperreal? is Atari Teenage Riot‘s first full-length release since 1999. The 10-track album starts out with “Activate!” which features guest musician Cx Kidtronik and is full of booming beats. The following track, “Blood In My Eyes,” is both dancey and slightly disturbing thanks to Nic Endo’s vocal style. “Black Flags” starts off slow but gets in your face with the repetition of the phrase “Are you ready to testify?” The first half of the album closes with “Is This Hyperreal?,” which sets itself apart from the other tracks on this release by telling a story about a post-apocalyptic world.
Starting the second half of the album off is “Codebreaker,” which features famed house music producer Steve Aoki. The only thing that actually stands out to me for this track is the 8-bitness of it. “Shadow Identity” is probably my favorite cut off of Is This Hyperreal? because of the easy to groove to instrumentals mixed with a softer, more harmonious section. Throughout the madness of sirens, pings and drum hits in “Re-Arrange Your Synapses,“ one cannot help but bob their head hard. A futuristic feel is set both with the beats and the little bit of dialogue in the beginning in “Digital Decay.” “The Only Slight Glimmer Of Hope” provides lyrics that will send chills up your spine. The final piece off of the album, “Collapse Of History,” closes the collection in an upbeat fashion but once the lyrics are done, what sounds like a secret message in a robotic voice is transmitted. However, it is pretty difficult to make out.
In A Word: Politically-charged
