HanDover
by Skinny Puppy

Industrial pioneers Skinny Puppy are my Beatles. Don’t let the lame genre tag throw you off. There is a lot more musicality than you might expect on SP’s third post-reunion album. Digital recording (not to mention years of experience) have cleaned up the band’s sound. They’ve kicked a lot of drugs, ground through a lot of pain, and recorded a lot of records:

“Ashas” sample

Many critics say the kindler, gentler, unthroat-throttled moments are the best of the reformed SP. Songs like “Ashas” and “Wavy” have me agreeing with them for the first time. It has taken twenty years but Ogre is finally comfortable with his own voice. The distortion has mostly been dropped from Cevin Key’s synth and drum treatments so his wizardry, once hidden, can shine through.

“Wavy” sample

What it sounds like the band is phoning in are the noisy parts. They can’t rip the top off it anymore, and sadly, the songs attempting to be the wildest are the mildest. It’s funny how life is.

-Bryan