Junk Science is a Brooklyn-based duo. Baje One is on the mic and DJ Snafu makes the beats. They met in high school in the ‘90s, but made their mark in the mid-2000s after winning a Scion-sponsored contest in 2005 that led to them releasing their sophomore album, Gran Dads Nerve Tonic on Embedded/Definitive Jux. They are part of a larger collective known as The Nuclear Family, of which Scott Thorough is also a member.

On Phoenix Down, named for a healing feather in Final Fantasy, Thorough and Snafu do the majority of composing and playing with 8-bit keyboards, the same medium used for the old Nintendo games. This can end up sounding novel. In good hands, it can be very interesting and effective (note the Castle EP reviewed earlier this week). And this is the bind I find myself in listening to this album – Junk Science & Scott Thorough can’t seem to decide what direction they want to take things. It’s not nerdcore, it’s not hip hop, it’s not synth pop, and it doesn’t have to be any of these things. The problem is that they never strike a balance. What frustrates me is the album’s mediocrity. There’s no one aspect of the album (aside from a guest verse from Homeboy Sandman), that I can point to and say, “At least this part was really good.” Baje One is a decent lyricist and emcee, but never grabs my attention. Thorough and Snafu aren’t bad composers or producers, but there’s no moment on the album that makes me go, “Oh, snap!” Nobody pushes this album in any sort of direction, so instead it wallows in the middle.

Phoenix Down represents my least favorite kind of record to come across. A record that is straight up terrible I can just throw out. If it’s offensive, I can get worked up and talk about what’s wrong. When it’s bland and doesn’t inspire any strong emotional response? That’s the worst.