Tex Taiwan
Damaged Hearts

There seems to be a new trend pushing a certain portion of the "indie animals" to restore the Atari Teenage Riot myth (by the way, freshly polished and back with a very satisfying album), creating songs that resemble small 8-bit short-circuits, keyboards, hardcore rhythms, screams, and plenty of video game beats. Among those who have tried, some have achieved excellent results (the brilliant Crystal Castles, one of the greatest alternative revelations of the past decade, the mean and phenomenal This Song Is A Mess But So Am I), others less committed but definitely very fun (the daring and carefree French Sexy Sushi, the Kap Bambino), while others seem to have a knack for making a great song, only to fall off afterwards (the promising You Love Her Coz She’s Dead surprised me with the revolutionary "Paraffin", three and a half minutes of pure and genius acid euphoria, only to continue recycling powerful but somewhat bland tracks). The newly formed Tex Taiwan seems to belong to this last group. 

The debut album, "Damaged Hearts", could have promised a handful of songs that are certainly not very original but incredibly engaging and well-executed. The piece that misled me was "Labyrinth", wicked, colorful, and sparkling just right, thanks to studied and overwhelming beats and an inspired female voice, but never hysterical. The rest of "Damaged Hearts", although it travels on consistently convincing levels thanks to an almost obsessive care for sound, seems to repeat the same identical formula with the belief that it can always work. 

There are, of course, no shortage of beautiful songs. Apart from the already mentioned "Labyrinth", a "Hearts War" could stand out at a party, as well as a cybernetic punk sprint named "E-E-Erase". What's lacking is the inspiration. 
What characterizes a band like Crystal Castles, or even the lesser but likable and talented Kap Bambino, is precisely the passion for taking risks and experimenting. The Tex Taiwan seem to get stuck on the same, identical formula for ten tracks, eventually becoming tiresome, when the goal should be another: destruction. "Damaged Hearts" is a carbon copy of twenty other bands, without reworking, without a minimum effort to make the tracks personal. And in certain passages (the poppy "Magnify", the slightly meaner - but not much - "Hunter"), it even, incredibly, leads to boredom. 

The album ends on a high note with a more successful "Haphazards", nothing special, but at least it manages to engage. 
A very wavering album, certainly well-made but incredibly tame and unoriginal. From those who almost convinced me with a very simple yet genius piece in its electro-naïve presumption like "Labyrinth", I would have expected something more. A pity.