If I had to listen to one decade of music for the rest of my life, it would be the 80s. What's not to like about Depeche Mode, The Cure, New Order, Psychedelic Furs, early U2, etc.?

According to Voyager One's MySpace page, some of their many, many influences include The Human League, The Cure, Talking Heads and The Smiths — all excellent 80s bands. That's why I thought it would be a no-brainer to review the Seattle band's latest album, Afterhours in the Afterlife.

Yes, I could hear the influences listed above, including some not mentioned, but in all, the effort was lost on me.

For example, the first track, "Here," has a clear Moby influence, but where Moby succeeds in creating dance/techno, Voyager One's attempt quickly diffused into a mess of sounds that promptly gave me a whopping headache. There should be an advisory on this album: If you're prone to headaches, don't listen to it.

After my headache dissipated, I continued with track two, "The Future is Obsolete," which I did enjoy (although anything that didn't give me a headache would have made me happy at that point). The track reminded me of rave party music, and it had a techno sound with clear similarities to Depeche Mode and New Order. It also had some really cool reverberation/blown speaker sounds, which I do like (I'm a big fan of Son Volt, so a preference for that sound is a prerequisite). Alas, like track one, it was about 90 percent music and 10 percent lyrics, so it's not so much a song as it is simply music.

Maybe it's because I had yet to hear a Voyager One song, but track three, "I Remember Everything," quickly became my favorite on the album. The first true song on the album, "I Remember Everything" echoed strains of the Psychedelic Furs and, again, Depeche Mode.

While track four, "Ocean Grey," was a mild (and bland) attempt at U2, I was surprised by the originality of track five, "Beautiful Wreckage," which brought to mind Arabian nights. It was magical and mesmerizing (though not a radio-friendly track, nor the kind that I'd listen to repeatedly).

The last five tracks started a downward spiral once again into noise with no point, much like the first track.

"The Kids Take Control" was tolerable, in that I could again hear Depeche Mode's influences in it. "Give" also echoed Depeche Mode, but it included a weird skipping/scratching sound that was highly annoying.

That sound only got worse with the track (ironically titled) "Bed of Sound," which continued the weird noise until I thought my speakers were going to explode. Hints of New Order (and, again, Depeche Mode) in "Darling O.K." could not salvage the track for me, what with the ticking time bomb noise throughout. The album closed like it opened, with "Sine Waves," full of annoying noise versus music and lyrics.

Afterhours In The Afterlife, Voyager One's fifth album created by bandmates Jeramy Koepping and Peter Marchese, may be enjoyable for fans of the band.

But for a newbie like me, it just left me in need of an Excedrin.