Nine Inch Nails – Year Zero (7/10)

2007

Not that NINE INCH NAILS has ever been totally out of form but Year Zero easily has more bite than its predecessor, With Teeth, probably owing to the focus Trent Reznor gained from conceptualizing. The double flap cover shows suburban America and its church positioned above a post war landscape of beaten buildings and polluting industrials. They’d be contrasting images if they weren’t both dressed in the gray of the dead. Opposite one another, on the inside, a suited arm presents a bible, the other naked except for a machine gun.

This is what would have been 2022. This is Year Zero.

The instrumental, ‘Hyperpower’, lives up to its name with an edgy strength that ensures an early highlight. Some songs, slightly bloated, could be interchanged without losing effect for the soundtrack that they may become. Lyrically, order makes sense, the bleak landscape what we’ve begotten for greed, racism, religion, and unaccountable democracy. War is rampant and identity dying, measured by these 16 tracks. “I define myself by how well I hide,” is Reznor’s good shot at wordsmith, following with his damaging best here, the pulsing beat of ‘Capital G’ and the condemning ‘God Given’.

NIN is in sleek, dark form.

sinning with Wicked Mike

Anouk – Hotel New York (4/10)

2004

The title is explained by Dutch singer, ANOUK, having composed all the songs in a room in Hotel New York in Rotterdam. They must have been grateful for the publicity when the CD became a regal hit, spawning hit after hit in Europe and as far afield as Israel. In Netherlands and Belgium it gained platinum sales.

ANOUK is best described as pop rock but sometimes she veers into just one of those words. Pop would certainly be the opener, ‘Girl’, which became the best selling single of all time for a female artist in her home country. It’s happy and assertive. ‘More Than You Deserve’ responds to betrayal with scathing vocals and electric guitar. It’s an appreciative reminder of her earlier work. ‘Jerusalem’ follows the rock vein to thrilling effect and is the highlight here. Often she delves into ballads but to mixed affect. ‘Falling Sun’ and ‘One Word’ are frailty at best but ‘Lost’ is vocally superb, sincerity overcoming cheesy lyrics.

Hotel New York is filled with rooms, some are closets whilst others luxury suites.

sinning with Wicked Mike

Placebo – Placebo (10th Anniversary Collector’s Edition) (7/10)

2006

I possess the lonely thought that PLACEBO hit perfect stride with 2003’s melodic Sleeping With Ghosts. But I cannot deny their early, edgy hit singles and the impact their eponymous work had on alternate rock fans (especially in Europe and South Africa). PLACEBO’s 10TH Anniversary Collector’s Edition reminds of that period and delights with the addition of 4 rare tracks and a DVD boasting TV videos and live performances. 

Glam immediately roughens as ‘Coming Home’ belts out like David Bowie on speed. Brian Molko, the androgynous appearing bisexual, sneers with attitude, drums run and guitars distort. It’s what would become trademark PLACEBO for many years; simplistic music that’s nevertheless impacts emotionally. Though, on the devil’s hand, it also leads to many tracks sounding similar. But standing above most is the hit single, ‘Nancy Boy’, the underrated ‘Bionic’ with it’s refrain of “Harder, faster!”, and the loneliness of ’36 Degrees’. The slower tracks, ‘Lady of Flowers’, ‘HK’ and ‘Swallow’ bore.

‘Paycheck’, a bonus demo, lacks melody but is interesting in that its urgency makes it into one of the band’s heaviest tracks. Both B-sides are strong enough to have beaten out others for inclusion on the original release. ‘Drowning By Numbers’ stands out with lyrical catchiness and instrumental breakdowns whilst the content and repetition in ‘Slackerbitch’ will appeal to Generation X. The DVD contains 5 dull TV appearances, 2 mediocre live performances and 4 great music videos. 

1996 may have had the Ramones performing for the last time, The Stone Roses disbanding, Slash leaving Guns ‘n’ Roses and the Sex Pistols reuniting but it was also the year that Placebo exploded into fame, ensuring themselves a spot in music’s history and a role in its future.

sinning with Wicked Mike

Darkpop – Golden Lillies & Mr Smith (8/10)

2008

I was elated when i heard that Michelle Breeze (ex brilliant Fetish) had teamed with multi instrumentalist, Christopher Tuck, for a new project called Pretty Ugly (later re-entitled DARKPOP). Expectation can be the biggest enemy of reality but when i played Golden Lillies & Mr Smith i was impressed and enchanted. About a dozen listens later, i still am.

This is opulent darkness lush with thought expressed through dramatic vocals and a voice like silver. Sincere beats, strings and guitar makes for the marriage between The Smashing Pumpkins, The Cure and tAtU. Well named for this is indeed dark pop. The internet single, ‘Fool’, is a gradual seduction of blackened love. It’s a perfect introduction as the theme of tragic love is carried throughout. Appropriately, the poetic lyrics are incredibly personal. Lines such as, “you must be the only one that tames me” and “kill this love” contradict so that confusion is an identification of humanity. This may well be an eternal diary for extreme love lost. I can certainly relate.

Pointless to suggest best tracks as many are all filled with black goodness that jostle to be number one. This is a seductive slice of alternate that will appeal to both lovers of the Eighties and modern aficionados of music with class.

sinning with Wicked Mike

The Undefind – Fragile Skin video

Machine Men – Circus of Fools (6.5/10)

2007

Hailing from Finland, MACHINE MEN prove that 80’s inspired hard rock is still alive and kicking in the colder regions of the world. Having totally kicked off their origins as an Iron Maiden cover band, their fourth release shows that they have grown into their own powerful and definable sound.

This is no ordinary heavy metal band. The depth in their songs take the listener down many paths that are unpredictable and at times inspiring. Tracks like ‘The Shadow Gallery’ and ‘Where I Stand’ are insanely good. Vocalist, Antony, may have been compared to Bruce Dickinson but on Circus of Fools he proves that his melodic singing and probing lyrics are in a class of their own. Guitarist J-V has a fresh approach with thick, powerful riffs that complement the vocals and screaming solos; astonishing technique with melodic fragments.

Circus of Fools was nominated for “Best Heavy Metal Album” for 2007 at the Metal Storm awards, a sign that, at long last, after 3 previous releases, MACHINE MEN are receiving the recognition that they deserve. Expect bigger things!

by Dale Wardell (drummer for Habit To)