Label: No Carbon
Release Date: 29/10/07
Rating:
IAMX is the brainchild of ex-Sneaker Pimps frontman Chris Corner, and the Berlin residents' second album 'The Alternative' is the sound of an artist breaking free. Schizophrenic in its variety of styles though, with a common thread of dark voyeurism and apocalyptic foreboding. There are strong echoes of Muse throughout, most notably in the epic opening salvo of 'President', a track with vocals so much akin to Matt Bellamy, a call to the authorities to report an illegal cloning scam had to be narrowly averted.
Throughout this release it's the slower material that works best, with the heart wrenching piano balladry of 'S.H.E.' and 'This Will Make You Love Again' grabbing your attention and refuse to let go. For the more electronically disposed there is more than a whiff of club headed Moby about the beat assault of 'Nightlife' and a giant chunk of Depeche Mode in the 'Personal Jesus'-style bassline of the title track. It's not all recycled territory though, as 'Bring Me Back A Dog' - with its bizarre reincarnation themed lyrics over cut up beats - offering an insight into the more experimental side of the artist.
Not everything here hits the quality benchmark, notably the excruciatingly clichéd sleaze of 'Spit It Out' and the ironically titled and thoroughly inessential 'Lulled By Numbers'. Flashes of genius are stamped all over this LP, but it is let down by a lack of real focus and direction. Maybe not 'The Alternative', just one of the alternatives.
Greg Inglis
IAMX Official Site
IAMX Myspace
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