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Foetus, "Love"
While the cover of this album is headache-inducing (a dizzying designusing the usual black, white and red motif), the musical contentmassages the brain's pleasure centers. The deviant pleasure centers.Birdman
While most artists start to show cracks at this stage in their career,Jim Thirlwell continues to churn out quality recordings. He has thegift of taking lyrics that would be corny in any other singer's mouthand turning them into barbed lines of genius, see "Aladdin Reverse" forsome prime examples. The music also shows how Thirlwell can turn whatwould be cheesy (like the synth bass on "Miracle") into not quite goldbut maybe some good silver. Lovesounds like a bastardised soundtrack for a blockbuster. Epic soundingstrings, brass and thumping percussion being the weapons of choice."Time Marches On" is where Thirlwell went whole hog with the soundtrackvibe, an incessant snare drum pushes the track on and on as stringsplay dramatic arpeggios and horns blare out a tune that shouldaccompany Clint Eastwood on horseback. In recent interviews Thirlwellhas professed his love for Hollywood composers like Alan Silvestri andDanny Elfman and their influence is all over Love. Elements ofMorricone also stick out at certain points but it all still sounds likeFoetus. One of the highlights of the album is "Thrush," a duet withJennifer Charles of Elysian Fields. Her delicate voice locks inperfectly with Thirlwell's serial killer croak. The album's title isalso the main theme of the album. However in the world of Foetus loveis not that wholesome experience that is usually sung about but thelove between a man and a corpse. On "(Not Adam)" Thirlwell sings to aloved one to "Stop your raving cos the neighbors might be listening"and then describes her murder and how he has kept her body in his bed.With charm like that how can he go wrong? The other tracks all dealwith murder and pervy love to some degree. From musings about forensicevidence in "Miracle" to madness and ink blots in "Pareidolia," I won'tbe visiting Thirlwell after dark. Love is a relentless and brilliant album and for once I agree with Lennon and McCartney, all you need is Love.
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