2 out of 5

Label: TVT Records

Producer: John Fryer

Yes, I remember (as I’m sure all of us from my music era do) when this album came out; I remember the giant fucking push it got, and I remember hearing “Guilty” about a million times on the radio.  Or was it “Blame?”  Or was it “Goodbye?”  I mean, maybe I got the worst of it because the band was from St. Louis, and we’d had few major breaks from our town (though now that I’m cool I can namedrop Dazzling Killmen, even though that’s sorta’ wayward), but regardless – I bought into it.  I remember getting a funky rush from whichever single it was, and I think this was bolstered by the swear word tossed into “Goodbye,” because I didn’t have swears in my music in those days, and damn it must’ve meant them Gravity Kills boys were serious.

But the album was short-lived in my collection.  And I actually don’t think I sold it outta establishing my brand new cool self (’cause remember how I’m like totes cool) – I think I realized that the album was fairly boring.  Taken track by track it’s okay, but the allmusic review suggests this was an album rushed to fulfill a buzz-bought soundtrack and it shows – the catchy industrial singles are pretty interchangeable, and the lyrics are beyond tepid, just predictable word rhymes and complicated concepts as “one and one and one make three.”

The group at least tries to find another pace – the middle of the album explores some quieter, slower tracks, but inevitably the ones that get your toe tapping are those in the drum-blast, aggressively spat chorus and chugging guitar vein of “Guilty.”  What’s interesting is however the John Fryer relationship was formed, because his tweaks atop the album – downplaying the guitars to favor some samples, adding layers of ambient sound where the band falls back on a typical beat – add dimension to songs that would otherwise be completely forgettable.  While it’s possible this work was done in collaboration with the band, there’s a sense of separation to it that suggests otherwise.

Still, the album is pretty damned listenable with all of its single-length tracks, and it does get your toe tapping.  But now that you’re not in high school, your cheeks blush with 90s shame realizing how patched together from generic industrial-pop pieces this is.