Sorely underrated release. With this album it feels like a whole other band - in a good sense. Many people overrate "Burn Out At The Hydrogen Bar" despite it being very good, but the 3 chorus structions on top of simple riffs were tiresome. Demos from that album clearly indicated that the band wanted to write more electronic-focused industrial with a cyberpunk feel, while preserving the same rock n' roll playfulness mostly via lyrics which is evident here starting from the cover art. What i like the most about this one is each track trying something distinctly alternative from heavily electrified guitars on the openere to electro-funk on top of industrial, then more electronic shades with prodigy'esque dynamics. They even incorporated (quite successfully too) a couple of atmosphere-laden, avant-garde tracks with spoken world type of lyrics, with a drip of trip-hop too. Speaking of lyrics, it requires you to read between the lines to fully appreciate how actually thought-provoking it can be (Jesus Christ Porn Star will leave in your head rent-free for a long while if you dig it) - such a crazy mix of nihilistic surrealism and schizo cyberpunk as if Chemlab were their recording studio rather than the band's name. Overall this still sounds fresh, unique and interesting throughout. Ironically it main drawback is what made "Burnout at the Hydrogen Bar" to stand out so much - straight counterculture anthems with quirky ecsentrism. 1999 remaster is lame, but comes with 3 remixes.
1 Bumps | Bump |
