It's been three years since Alter Ego's last album, Transphormer, so Roman Flugel and Jorn Elling Wuttke unleash more of their madness upon the world. Why Not?! may not be the Alter Ego album you've been expecting. Picking up where Transphormer left off, it's frontloaded with all the ballsy Alter Ego hallmarks you've come to expect: buzzing squalls of synthesizer, leads that cut like a blowtorch, and rhythms that pack a rock 'n' roll punch to house and techno's jacking package. It's raw, dirty and just barely restrained. But Why Not?! is something else: it's funny. Maybe even a little bit goofy. This is techno, but it's not of the stonefaced, screwfaced variety. It's good, clean fun -- well, except when it's dirty, which is most of the time, given Alter Ego's affection for ragged waveforms and distortion-crusted drums. Most of all, it's dizzying, which might have something to do with the fact that virtually every track is slathered in grand, sweeping sounds with their portamento settings tuned to Roller Coaster. Listening to the album feels a little like racing down a playground slide that's been hooked up to a moderate electric current, and landing in a pile of mud. It's safe to say that NEVER before has classic house, techno and ragga/dubstep been combined in such a way. This record is destined to cause a stir amongst the current wave of French party crashers. Alter Ego have never been the most reverent of acts -- just consider the name of their early incarnation, Acid Jesus -- and on Why Not?!, from the titles to their tunes, their irreverence hits a restless new high, without ever sacrificing the all-powerful groove.
