by Johnny LoftusThere wasn't exactly a clamor for it. Nevertheless, Robots in Disguise have in 2004 dropped a U.S. version of their eponymous Recall Records debut, which got a bit of gimmicky pub upon its European issue three years earlier. Gimmicky because RID representatives Sue Denim and Dee Plume function inside a pretty clunky bubble of jive-ass mythology. Listeners are meant to believe the two are robots, you see. Punky arms move herkily-jerkily, songs are sung in emotionless, yet erotic tones -- they're androidal Marias on a sex odyssey from Femalia. These Robots crunch computations of electro, synth pop, the Slits, and Lush. Unfortunately, the raw material's ones and zeroes rarely coalesce into unique or memorable statements. Robots in Disguise probably leaked opportunity juice when it appeared during electroclash's brief model run -- by 2004, there's even less solvency left to market. "Boys," the hit, whirs on the novelty of Denim and Plume's sexily detached accents cooing hipster come-ons: "Boys in bands have a lotta fun/They make new sounds to get off on..." Sneaker Pimp Chris Corner is the girls' musical sculptor, handling drum programming, production, and engineering. He comes up with some propulsive fuzzy rhythms, particularly on "Postcards From...," which suggests Too Pure-era Stereolab, or the hooky synth-wave of "Mnemonic." But cuts like "50 Minutes" and "Bed Scenes" try and squeak by on mild prurience, while "Argument" and the Bowie trip "What Junior Band Did Next" are awkward concept extensions of the outfit's already clunky robot gag ("Picture the scene: Clouds circle over 2010/The Robots are on tour again"). Stale in concept and practice, Robots in Disguise fails to transform its artful influences into much more than brash pose. It's quite less than meets the eye.