Basic Information: ROM is made up of two people, Matt Crum (drummer) and Roberto Lange (aka Helado Negro). This album is their self-titled debut originally released on WIMM Recordings in 2005, and re-released in 2013. Their first published recording was called Weekly Departure, but it was only sent to the radio and press, hasn’t been actually released, and is currently lost media. They have two other albums, Foot Signal and Possible Mountain. Even though ROM appears to be pretty far in the backseat for Lange and Crum as their most recent album in 2016 was a collection of things that were in progress around 2005, Matt Crum still features on some songs on Lange’s main project.Warning: This is my first in-depth review. I don’t think I will always do track by track thing but I feel like it is a good exercise for the first review. I’m tired while writing most of it, so sorry if it sounds robotic and not fully polished. Plus grammatical errors. I asked chatGPT about it but am too excited to release the review! Yes, I am biased. (this is one of my favorite albums)
Track-By-Track: The first track is simply titled “Opening”. It has shifting synths, a quaint guitar and a bike-like sound which overall recreates the feeling of biking back from your friend’s house as the sky begins to darken. It then fades into the second track, “Jumpic'', with a ticking sound. It has beautiful slidey chords, bitcrushed drums and live xylophone-like elements to bring it all together in a bittersweet feeling, closed by a sine-y synth doodling itself into the song and the ticking that brought the song in.
The song that follows is titled “Sway”. It starts with great pulsating synths for about a minute then kicks in with driving drums and energy. At the B-Section an angry bass comes in to gate itself with the kick and further propel the song. It gets groovy again but ends shortly after. Next up is the amazingly chill song “Glacier”. It lounges around with twinkly guitars, a warm drum machine, and a slidey synth. The warmth of this song is great, it is very fuzzy and doesn’t get boring despite being what most people would call “elevator music”. This is advanced elevator music. Around the 2:10 mark, it disperses itself into fragments to let the next song pass by.
That next song is called “Hermit Crabs”. It stands at a very short 18 seconds and serves as an interlude, but there’s still stuff to talk about in it. It swells in and out with sad undertones then falls asleep. The 6th song on the album, “Je”, tries to wake it back up. Je is powerful and creates a longing feeling with guitars and more bitcrushed elements similar to the first track on the album. When the song reaches its climax, it has a great riff and energetic, thumping drums. Just when you think it’s over, the guitar and drums come back to get super stuttered and eventually fade out into a different guitar part. This guitar part is reversed, odd and sounds different but still conveys the same post-rock feeling.
The next track is And Breathe. It has odd jar opening sounds, and feels kind of outdoorsy and airy. A reversed, pulsating sound goes with this section, and a bridge carries it back into itself with electrical buzzing sounds and a warm drum machine. The guitar melody, although simple, will get stuck in your head very easily. ROM are excellent at making things feel warm and familiar, but not stale. It eventually fades out with the bridge section again and more buzz sounds. “Umberto” kicks off with a vocal sample excitedly shouting “Hey Y'all!” Umberto is a fun, bouncy track with lively percussion and a gated guitar part. Pingy synths put it into the B-section, where new melodies are introduced and a small but airy synth pads over it. It goes back to the A-Section and quickly ends, as the song is only 1:46 long.
A contrast from the previous track, “Too Late” channels the same energy as “Je” but instead of a guitar riff being the main part, it's a slidey synth. It then quickly moves into an in–between section of a nice drum groove and another guitar part going back into the A-Section. The following part has a bit of the feeling of the Splatoon 2 Battle Intro and a gated guitar grooves with the excellent drumming. That initial stutter feel on the kick drum is impeccable. The next track “Into the Clouds” opens with a shaker, chimes, guitar, and a bitcrushed monster sound. I also begin to regret my decision to try my hand at a track-by-track review when I realize this is my first review and there are 16 songs on the album. It drives forward with a purpose and the overdriven drums sound excellent. An atmosphere is improved as the chimes and drums get alone time while the rest of the instruments eagerly watch. All the instruments come back again to play alongside the complex drum pattern. As I have stated before, ROM excel at making melancholic, familiar but still intriguing soundscapes and they are on full display here. This is also the longest song on the album at 6 minutes and 19 seconds. The drums end and the instruments harmonize for around two minutes before getting fuzzed out and the song ending.
I noticed that a tag on the bandcamp release is “Generative Music”, but I don’t know which part it plays into because everything sounds mostly intentional. The next track “Lag” is sort of an interlude with weird buzzy-slidey race car or drone sounds being pitched around for 32 seconds. Then a beeping sound begins, and that beeping sound is part of the next track: “Flake”! It opens with fizzling sounds and two guitar notes before going into funky mode with a fun bassline and Crum’s drums being chopped up and layered with the original drums, which is a really fun vibe. Guitar noodles over the solid base with fun drum fills and endless quirk. A little synth comes in and succeeds the guitar, while everything gets a little stranger and brings the song to a close.
The next song, “Rise and Fall” has a long synth with a froggy bass and drum machine. The synths mesh together but still separate nicely, with weird bitcrushed bird sounds interjecting. It goes into the same part again but with a nice delayed e-piano to compliment everything. This song is small and comes to a close with a cute synth playing some melancholy notes, and BUBBLE SOUNDS! “Move Slow” begins with a strumming guitar, drums from the next room, and more slidey synths. This album is the perfect place for slidey synths if you ever need any. It feels like a more acoustic and small song from the original Minecraft soundtrack. (Sorry to keep comparing it to game music :/) Then the rest of the percussion and synths kick in (the kick drum is saved for later). It’s a fun time and then with the elusive vocal, it bridges into the B-Section. It has another e-piano and smooth synths. The kick drum is very faint, but it is there! It quietly ends and then my personal least favorite track shows up late to the party.
“Mr. Thankful” has crushed bell tones droning over UFO hovering noises for a solid minute and 12 seconds. I have come to appreciate it more, but it isn’t exactly enjoyable for me and doesn’t entirely fit the rest of the album. The final track on the album, “Fix Get” is beautiful. It has artificial noisy outdoor/playground sounds, almost like a prehistoric liminal space of audio. The guitars strum whimsically, and the shaker is nicely shaken, but they all know that the album is coming to a close. It is the perfect end to the album and feels like saying goodbye to an old friend.
Overall, ROM’s self-titled debut is one of my favorite albums. It is beautifully crafted and I say to listen to it for yourself. Now I realize I will almost always do music I like, so think of me more like a music suggester than reviewer. ROM is epic! Goodbye!