Big-hearted robot - nothing is leaving

Big-Hearted Robot

Nothing Is Leaving
self-released; 2013

3.5 out of 5

By Matt Jensen

Big-Hearted Robot is a duo consisting of brothers Adam and Bobb Barito who implement inventive sounds on their recent full-length Nothing Is Leaving. The band brings a lot to the table in terms of creativity. They experiment with horns, electronic drum kits and much more and turn it into a digestible pop format. On top of that the album sounds great production-wise from top to bottom.

Some of the songs had me completely invested while others didn't pan out so well. The album starts out with one of the highlights entitled “Set Fire.” The inventive drum programming and instrumentation impressed me, and the lead vocals reached great heights. The chorus has the vocalist singing with conviction as he delivers on the best vocal melodies during the chorus. He intentionally slurs his words to create a unique vocal style. The first song was really unique, which is why the second song “Falling For You” threw me for a loop. The vocal style felt familiar in a commercial way. Once the chorus hit it sounds like a pop song you would hear on the radio. “Fleeting” was a decent song that contained some of the most original instrumentation on the album. They create an open spacious canvas with what sounds like an electronic marimba of some kind, acoustic guitars and electronic drums.

“Might Love” is a significant deviation from the first couple of songs on the album. The song is extremely upbeat, contains horns and combines ska and rock. It was actually one of the best songs on the album but it did feel out of place amongst the other songs on the album. The change in vibe between “Might Love” and “Wish You Were The One” is too much. The songs sound as if they are from two different bands. “Wish You Were The One” revolves around atmospheric pads you might find on a Juno-G as well as highly distorted vocals. 

“More Of You” was the centerpiece of the album going just over the seven- minute mark. I enjoyed the Portishead- influenced sound that I wish was more apparent on the record. The song delves into experimental territory and had me hoping there was more of it on the album.

A lot of the songs work on Nothing Is Leaving but as an album they have a bit of personality disorder. The duo is talented but is obviously having issues finding their own sound. There's nothing wrong with mixing it up but the band goes too far and leaves us with an uneven impression of what these guys are about. I personally thought they sounded best on songs like “Set Fire” and “More Of You,” which delved into darker atmosphere and experimentation that wasn't apparent on some of the other songs.

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