I may have to work 9 to 5 to make ends meet, but when I finally trudge home at the end of a long and painful day, I'm not to real keen on rehashing my day musically. Corporate MF runs the workplace gamut, taunting you with tunes that discuss catered board meetings, kissing the boss's ass, and accounting fraud. There's even a cheeky organizational chart in the liner notes, mapping the way straight up to CMO (Chief Musical Officer) Nicholas Dye. Sure, Corporate MF has shtick, but the band's cold, clammy, keyboard-heavy music leaves something to be desired.

Like the personality-free denizens they sing about, Corporate MF don't seem to have their own unique identity. The Royal We reminds me of Devo and Add N to X with Jello Biafra handling vocal duties. Crisp keyboards line every track, squeezing out wriggling, buzzing analog notes and modulated bends. A tight (and notably un-machine-like) rhythm section backs it all up, adding an organic twist to the robotic synths. The instrumental title track shows off the band's musical chops, with some interesting twists and turns, including a mid-point piano breakdown, but it's still difficult to really engage the track -- there just aren't enough hooks here to keep me interested.

And while I can admire the Savings and Loan-era retro-synths, it's the vocals that really killed The Royal We for me. They're notably unenergetic, devoid of pizzazz. The upbeat "Office Fantasies" isn't half bad, but when the dreary and monotone vocals plead, "Can't you see our fiscal year / Is coming to a close / Let's take off all our clothes", I turn red in the cheeks. Did someone really write that? "Street Dancers" explores the sexual synergy that oozes in the business environment, but the deadpan vocals made me want to hide under my cubicle desk. "Personality Profile" does have some life to it -- the band cleverly rehashes one of those mind-numbing interviews where your potential manager-to-be asks you ridiculous personality test questions. A spattering of electro-fuzz and thudding bass adds some gusto to this guitar-less track.

Sure, some may find it intriguing that Corporate MF utilizes campy toys like TI's Speak 'n' Math and the Fisher Price My Little Keyboard, but from my vantage point, there's already too much of this electro-techno-garble swimming in the music stream. It's a quaint idea, picking on "The Man", but I think I'd prefer to sabotage the coffee maker or spit in the iced-tea pot if I want to get off on hating Corporate America. Maybe if I keep my head down and write about something else, the Corporate MF boss-man will pass me by. There's always that tricky ALT-TAB maneuver in case he looks over my shoulder...