Autonomous by Outputmessage

With Autonomous , Outputmessage's first album since 2006's Nebulae, Outputmessage (Bernard Farley) shifts his sound from the IDM / downbeat vibe of Nebulae to more of an electro-pop sound. Farley has been teasing his fans gradually since he released the album's first single, "Undone", over six months ago. Since then, he's released four more singles: a reworking of City Rain's "This I Will Remember" called "I Remember", reworkings of two of his old tracks "Resurface (Vocal)" and "Glintz (Vocal)"and the incredibly catchy "N.Y.R." Releasing five singles from an album before the album releases is definitely unusual, but the seven remaining tracks are certainly exciting enough to forget about the singles. "Get Away", the second track off the album, is likely Outputmessage's best song since the original "Glintz", released on Nebulae. "Prelude" is an exhilarating opener, setting the stage for quite an exhilarating album. The main criticism that can be given is that there are a few throw-away tracks ("Follow", "Tuesday", "Undone"), and that the album isn't quite as cohesive as Nebuale. But the tracks, overall, are better than those on Nebulae, and as such, is a much better album.

9 / 10

Tracklist

1) Prelude

2) Get Away

3) N.Y.R

4) Resurface (Vocal)

5) I Remember (feat. City Rain)

6) Follow

7) Tuesday

8) Glintz (Vocal)

9) Undone

10) Foreign

11) My Love

12) Syracuse

Bold = Album Pick