Mr. Impossible

The new album from punk/funk/electro trio Black Dice can be filed under “hard to love.” While there’s no doubting that the Brooklyn natives’ know their way around a studio and their credentials as noise terrorists are unquestioned, the tracks on Mr. Impossible are more often than not as impregnable as the Jonas Brothers’ under-crackers, and the stuttering, syncopated sci-fi sounds of ‘Rodriguez’ and ‘Pigs’ suffer from a distinct lack of hooks. Yes, I agree that the trio have imagination and ambition by the bucket-load, but their invention and wizardry just aren’t enough to warrant repeat listens.