The sort of music you feel dolphins would make if only they had access to a recording studio, "Asylum" sees The Orb back in ambient
trance mode; eschewing tune and structure for bizarre samples and spacey moog sounds. As a four-minute edit, this is merely a diversion,
but play one of the longer mixes (the "Kris And Dave's You Are Evil (But I Like You)" remix on CD2 is one of the best) and the song becomes
more of a journey (maaan), with differing textures and moods. Ok, it helps if you sit staring at a flashing light after having drunk a bottle
of Benylin, but even completely straight these tracks have quite an effect.
Just don't expect to be whistling it on the bus tomorrow.
Rating: 8/10
The Rest
Scarfo, currently supporting Placebo on tour, have more than a little in common with Molko's crowd of naughty little boy-girls. Another trio,
Scarfo have a similar jagged and spiky guitar style and songs dealing with the sleazier end of life. With a vocalist that sounds like a
young Weller crossed with the singer from EMF, the band have a distinctive style that when it connects is harder than a concrete
cricket bat. And connect it does on "ELO", a snot-nosed yet sinister joyride through the city at night. "You're all unequal after all" sneer the
lyrics, and it sounds like a terrible and unavoidable truth.
First extra track is "Fuji", a claustrophobic paranoid track ("Don't feel like myself, don't feel like anyone else") that has an
intense angsty verse and a wild angry chorus. Third track is "Porno", as cheap and dirty a song as the title implies which layers guitar effects upon
each other until by the end it resembles a headache.
Scarfo sound like a sixth-form band that have been corrupted by sex, drugs and rock and roll, experimenting with new-found
addictions and stimulants and making a grand sound in the process.
Rating: 8/10
"Me! Me! Look At Me!" screams Brian Molko in his best androgynous Geddy Lee impersonating fashion. Well, he actually screams things
like "we were born to lose" and "trying to be ruthless in the face of beauty", but it's the same difference. All the guitars and
angst of "Nancy Boy" but none of the tune, this is pretty disappointing. Placbeo can sculpt mighty fire-breathing songs of malevolent
beauty when they put their mind to it, but they can spit out some pretty feeble histrionics at times too. "Bruise Pristine" falls into the latter camp.
"Then The Clouds Will Open For Me", is an acoustic number that succeeds in sounding quite sinister (although Molko sounds a bit
too much like Liza Minelli). The CD closes with a One Inch Punch remix of "Bruise Pristine" that gets rid of most of the guitars but ill-advisedly
retains the vocals. It's better than the a-side though.
Rating: 5/10
This is what we want. I almost gave this Single Of The Week status cos it's so damn funny. I mean, can you believe this? Over a
trancey slice of ambient-by-numbers, Agent Scullery Maid or whatever she's called breathes some utterly ridiculous nonsense such as "automaton
love, your caress is pneumatic". Then she sighs and pants a lot as if she's just run up six flights of stairs carrying a bowling ball. A hah haah ha ha ha ha ha ha...
This is the funniest song I have heard since Half Man Half Biscuit's "Trumpton Riots". Apparently the video features Ms Anderson (the
World's Most Downloaded Woman tm) writhing about on a bed with a bloke and a woman dressed up as robots. Man, I have to see that -
sounds funnier than "Brass Eye".
There are three completely unnecessary remixes here as well which means you can laugh at Agent Frumpy for 21 minutes and 11
seconds. Priceless.
Rating: 0/10 (or 10/10 if you need a good laugh)
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