[4/5]
Luis Dubuc is doing for pop what one-man bands have done for emo. Piano virtuoso the Secret Handshake (Dubuc) has created a highly impressive mothership with One Full Year, a key-laden, funky, pop-rock-induced full-length. Gyrating with addictive hip-hop beats and mashed-up robotic vocal harmonies, the Texas native's signature piano and computer manipulations mix laptop pandemonium of quirky bells, whistles and more blips than Number 5 from Short Circuit. Dubuc varies his vocals as often as the sound of his Wurlitzer piano, altering his delivery with a talk box on "Make You Mine." Guitars are virtually extinct on the album, and lyrics tread familiar waters of heartbreak ("I Lied About Everything"), yet are delivered without the whiny, woe-is-me mentality, as on "Everyone Knows Everyone" ("I can't stand that we're all connected/I miss the days when I only knew my friends"). One Full Year is the perfect crossbreed, blending hip-hop and new-wave synth for iMac nerds everywhere. (TRIPLE CROWN) Jennifer Sica
 Official Website: http://www.triplecrownrecords.com
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