Unbeast the Leash

Baltimore indie electronic duo Videohippos debut with a charmingly homemade-sounding bit of lo-fi pop fizz. At times verging on the sort of amateurishness that defined the early twee pop scene, it's occasionally difficult to tell how much of the album's musical limitation is by choice and how much is a matter of skill. Similarly, the duo's vocals and instruments might be put through a series of effects to make them so buzzy and indistinct, or they may have simply have been recorded on really cheap equipment. That said, anyone with a fondness for the likes of the Marine Girls, Grab Grab the Haddock or the more shambolic end of the Television Personalities will find brief, simple but catchy tunes like "Bearfight" and "Take It" immediately familiar. Those allergic to barely-in-tune vocals and dead simple musical structures are hereby warned off.