Cut Copy Paste Men at Work

Like a whole lot of other people, I really enjoyed Cut Copy's last album, 2008's In Ghost Colours. Depeche Mode and New Order were pretty obvious touchstones for that album so I was really surprised by one of the first singles from the band's latest album, Zonoscope, because the obvious touchstone is Men at Work (who coincidentally also hail from Australia like Cut Copy). After doing a little Google searching, it turns out that I am not the only one who thinks that "Take Me Over" borrows a little too heavily from Men At Work's "Down Under." Just check the comments section of that link. The first time I played it in the car for my wife she asked me if it was a cover before the vocals kicked in. While Zonoscope album opener "Need You Now" gave me hope that Cut Copy had made a solid follow up to In Ghost Colours, I was pretty nonplussed by Pitchfork's Joe Colly's assertion that the song prepares you for whatever comes next on the album. Maybe he hasn't heard Zonoscope yet, but I have and it is pretty underwhelming. If "Pharoahs & Pyramids" and "Blink and You'll Miss a Revolution" didn't hint at how bad this record is just in its choice of track titles alone then wait until you actually hear them. "Pharoahs" in particular sounds like the kind of generic song a band would record for the soundtrack to Bill & Ted's Excellent adventure if they were going to visit Tutenkamen.