This first solo album by
Chris Corner, joint-operating member of 1990s trip-hop runner-ups
Sneaker Pimps, is a deceptive affair. First off because anyone who fondly remembers the fluid traces of original
Pimps vocalist
Kelli Dayton, who appeared on the groups most memorable work -- but left as the band's later work faltered -- are nowhere to be found. In exchange,
Corner's own voice dominates this record in an over-romanticized darkwave approach that pins its hopes on the '80s taste of today, rather than the placid beauty of the mid-'90s Bristol sound, which most feel is not quite ready for its retro 15 minutes. But if
Corner essentially fails as a vocalist, he still knows how to write a killer hook. "Naked but Safe" swaggers with
Corner gasping "Keep me fed, keep me watered." While "Sailor" is a
Gary Glitter-inspired tome to three-way prison sex, with all the dark cabaret hustle such a subject affords. The production across the record is obviously perfect, although perhaps a bit too much so in places, particularly when the strings flutter in on "Your Joy Is My Low." Not even
Depeche Mode (whose fans will find plenty to enjoy on this CD) ever had bleeps that sounded so crisp. But
Corner is no
David Gahan, and despite a few glimpses of a muse worthwhile, this disc will no doubt find most of it's action in the used CD bin. ~ Joshua Glazer