Radiohead. Let’s just get that word out of the way right up front. Yes, the beats and beeps of Idiot Pilot will remind any well-schooled music enthusiast of Oxford’s finest. Singer Daniel’s voice will invariably paint the words “Thom Yorke” in your ears. These are good things.

Of all the subdivisional sounds found under the banner of “indie music,” one that I must confess a near perfect ignorance of is “SCREAMO.” From what I’ve been told, this is a genre built upon the fervent howling of heartbreak into a microphone, which most likely wishes it had instead been purchased by Margo Timmins or Hope Sandoval.

No, these are not two separate reviews – because Idiot Pilot puts both styles of music together in an astounding display of genre fusion.

The track that best illustrates what they do – and perhaps the best track to start off with – is “To Buy A Gun.” Ten seconds in, you’re already imagining which Hail To The Thief single might have used this track as a b-side – right up until the forty-second mark when guitarist/screamer Daniel howls, “’CAUSE THAT’S ALL IT TAKES! TO BUY A GUN!” and an explosion of guitars calls the anger to the surface. Due to Idiot Pilot’s policy of not printing lyrics, I’m still not sure whether or not the message behind their singing/screaming is in line with my own thoughts on firearms legislation… but it doesn’t matter. The song could be about barbecuing puppies and I’d still be screaming along with whichever parts I could decipher.

The title of Idiot Pilot’s debut album, Strange We Should Meet Here – while open to a myriad of interpretations – describes their sound perfectly. Who could have imagined that these two disparate musical styles would coalesce with such success? To their credit, Idiot Pilot doesn’t just repeat this same trick (layered electronic beats punctuated by – SURPRISE! – screaming choruses) over and over. Two of the album’s best moments come when they stray from the main road.

“Les Lumieres,” a straight-up dance track, would feel right at home in any film where we follow a main character around a rave after just having flipped that first fateful E. “I’m waking up, the lights are on” are the only available lyrics here. Repeated again and again to hypnotic effect. But the album’s high point is easily “Spark Plug” – a powerful rock song that might best be described as three and a half minutes in the head of a violent schizophrenic just before going on a rampage. If you haven’t already grown to love the screaming by this point, “Spark Plug” is the track that will make or break it for you.

Idiot Pilot’s recent support slot at the Troubadour confirmed that they can kick ass on the stage as well as in the studio. Two guys. One guitar. And a laptop. Looks like the next generation of bands will be enjoying meatier chunks of royalties while session players beg for change outside the venues. Despite the stripped-down approach, Idiot Pilot makes just as loud a noise as any “full band” could hope to.

The best part of the live show, however, is their clarity of commitment to this particular brand of rock music. Michael sings. Daniel screams. They both bounce around with the multi-ball action of a band who means it. You know it’s one hell of a show you’re watching when the singer falls to the stage and rolls around – then tumbles right OFF the stage, down onto the floor, leaps back up and gets to the next verse on time. The forty-or-so patrons who arrived early may have just been waiting for the next bands to come on, but they will never forget what they saw that night.

On “Open Register,” one of the album’s prettier numbers, Daniel screams, “WE’RE TRYING TO HELP YOU!” When listening to Idiot Pilot, it’s hard to shake the feeling that this is exactly what they’re doing. Trying to shock you out of your radio-induced stupor. Trying to help you feel something. And you know what? It’s working.

--Tim Tori is a writer and master of the mixed cd. We try not to hold it against him that he really doesn't like New Order.