Listening to BT (Brian Transeau)s latest album Emotional Technology brings out a surplus of emotions, the most powerful of which is frustration. This is BTs fourth studio album, each getting progressively less interesting. Movement in Still Life, BTs last album, while fun at parts, struggled to find a genre. It bounced around from techno to pop to rap to classical to boring, a genre growing in popularity among artists these days. Each track off of Emotional Technology feels like a B-side to Still Life. Most of the techno and rap are left behind. Instead, BT delivers transient mood operas that go on for far too long (five tracks run eight minutes!) and lack any real meaning or truth. For a man who thanks God twice in his linear notes, one would think that he would fuse his love for God into his lyrics, but in truth, BTs lyrics mean nothing. He tries to be inspiring, but it comes off like bad poetry. For example, Open up yourself/to what is out there/But dont take off/like a snowball down a hill. Thank you BT for that insightful load of garbage.

      Another emotion emanating while listening is annoyance. BT annoyingly recycles old beats from previous albums. The second track off Technology, really the first after a stupid, pointless into, sounds almost exactly like the first track off of Still Life, Mad Skillz. This mechanical structuring remains throughout most of Technologys thirteen tracks. In the tradition of fellow techno musician Moby, BT likes to go back to old sound bytes and incorporate them into his music. Unlike Moby, an artist who seamlessly integrates these sound bytes into his songs, creating a unique ambient spiritual mood, BT infects his songs with the sound bytes, scorching them and annoying anyone who isnt BT. Thats really BTs problem, these albums are his little science projects. Each track is selfishly mixed, remixed and overmixed to BTs liking. In one track, BT claims to have made 6,178 vocal edits. Is that good or badreally? Its not even noticeable and therefore, a waste of time. In track 12, Animals, BT uses sound bytes from his experience in a submarine several thousand feet below the oceans surface. Does this help the song at all? Not really. It may set a mood for why he wrote the song, but it doesnt help us enjoy it. You have linear notes BT. Use them.

      The emotion of happiness does shine through though. The album, for all its ineptitude, is quite an entertaining listen and could be used well in a party situation. Knowledge of Self is classic BT. Somnambulist a.k.a. Simply Being Loved is BTs most radio friendly track. The Great Escape is the really standout track, moving far beyond anything else on this album. If only BT cold make more tracks like this.