Wiping off the industrial
grit, burning flames and sleazy sampler ooze of his night jobs in Revolting
Cocks, Ministry and Pigface, Edinburgh-born/Chicago-resident singer, guitarist
and pianist Chris Connelly (not the MTV film show host/onetime Premiere
magazine editor but the former Fini Tribe member) has made three restrained
solo albums that increase the peace and are, at heart, more pop than anything
else.
Phenobarb Bambalam, which Connelly recorded in the aftermath of his girlfriend’s suicide and dedicated to her memory, cuts back on the Walker/Bowie devotions for a bit of the sterner rock aggression and dance rhythms of Connelly’s other endeavours. (Although the downcast ’60s inflections of “Too Good to Be True” and the guilty feedback miseries of “Heartburn” do follow Whiplash Boychild‘s lead; a dramatic cover of Tom Verlaine’s “Souvenir From a Dream” introduces a new design entirely.) Keeping the sound pressure beneath drastic levels, Connelly sounds like all the wind has been sucked out of his sails; the bleak record winds along aimlessly on auto-pilot, avoiding sharp turns and great ambitions, often letting the grooves shape the song writing rather than the other way around. Although hauntingly effective in conveying gloom, Phenobarb Bambalam shunts much of the suffering in the lyrics away; Connelly’s resigned singing leaves the album’s emotional door wide open, and all the claustrophobia in the music rushes right out.
Phenobarb Bambalam, which Connelly recorded in the aftermath of his girlfriend’s suicide and dedicated to her memory, cuts back on the Walker/Bowie devotions for a bit of the sterner rock aggression and dance rhythms of Connelly’s other endeavours. (Although the downcast ’60s inflections of “Too Good to Be True” and the guilty feedback miseries of “Heartburn” do follow Whiplash Boychild‘s lead; a dramatic cover of Tom Verlaine’s “Souvenir From a Dream” introduces a new design entirely.) Keeping the sound pressure beneath drastic levels, Connelly sounds like all the wind has been sucked out of his sails; the bleak record winds along aimlessly on auto-pilot, avoiding sharp turns and great ambitions, often letting the grooves shape the song writing rather than the other way around. Although hauntingly effective in conveying gloom, Phenobarb Bambalam shunts much of the suffering in the lyrics away; Connelly’s resigned singing leaves the album’s emotional door wide open, and all the claustrophobia in the music rushes right out.
Ripped to MP3
1. The Whistle Blower
2. July
3. Souvenir From a Dream
4. Come Down Here
5. Too Good to Be True
6. Heartburn
7. No Lesser of Two Evils
8. Ignition Times Four
9. Dirtbox Tennessee
10. Heartburn (Twister Mix)
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