How many different bands has Powerman 5000 been now? The band that recorded “True Force” and “Mega!! Kung-Fu Radio” (or “The Blood Splat Rating System,” if you prefer,) was not, thematically, the same band that had an impactful landing with “Tonight the Stars Revolt!” and then was star-crossed with the non-release of “Anyone For Doomsday?” Which is turn was a different band than gave the world “Transform” and “Destroy What You Enjoy.” Which, again, was not the band that composed the re-birthing album “Builders of the Future” and the follow up “New Wave.”
It’s been a continual journey of reinvention spanning nearly thirty years for PM5K, which is reflected most obviously in the changing music, but also in the shifting landscape of the band’s membership since the release of their hallmark effort in 1999. The one curse of having released a platinum album is that there are fans who will hold a band to that standard for the duration of their natural lives, and thus Powerman 5000’s (and really, frontman Spider’s) musical journey to find new sounds comes as anathema to those who have never matured past “When Worlds Collide.”
Yet, none of us are the same people we were in 1999 (and there’s probably a fair percentage of those reading this who were not even born then,) and who are we to judge an artist’s attempt to grow and change and evolve?
With that as the backdrop, we come now to Powerman’s new effort, “The Noble Rot.” In America, we struggle mightily with the concept that any public person can be two things at the same time. Russell Crowe can be a great actor and a difficult personality. Michael Jordan can be a sublime talent, an antagonist to his teammates and possibly a sociopath. These things are not mutually exclusive. Which fits into the conversation of “The Noble Rot” because there are inalienable truths of this record – this is another reinvention of Powerman 5000, and is it a fun album that can stand on its own merit.
Many moons ago, we had occasion to interview Spider, and he confessed to the fact that some of his critics are spot on – he has absolutely been trying to tap into the sound of popular music, and infuse that into his own style. He is fascinated by the structure of pop songs and is aware of just how difficult it is to write something that appeals to a large base. He views this (or did at the time,) as a sort of grand life-quest, which has come home to roost for “The Noble Rot.” PM5K had been trending toward beat-based electronics for years – each album cycle saw the band pivot ever so much closer to the target, shedding the cocoon of metal and industrial and trying to grow the gossamer wings of something more.
And you needn’t get far to see the effect. “Cannibal Killers That Kill Everyone,” leads the album and is most emblematic of the Powerman of old. It’s the most infectious song that the band has written since the haunting lilt of “I Can’t Fucking Hear You,” and repeats a simple but effective chorus until it is destined to become a crowd chant.
The album acts though, as if it wants to get that out of the way, for the experience never returns to the same idiom, and what we get from that point forward is varying degrees of an electronic pop album that possesses certain metal aspects. “Brave New World,” the album’s second track, kicks off what can only be described as an album-long tribute to new wave, Billy Idol and David Bowie. Almost all of the proceedings sound like a blend of those elements, combined with “Pretty Hate Machine” and oh, some Powerman 5000 to flavor the mix.
The album’s first single is “Black Lipstick,” which comes with a fun video, but musically is one of the record’s weaker offerings. For all that Spider wants to tap into his love for dark wave, this romp about a fleeting love affair is too melodramatic and too far out of bounds for the band’s style, even in the wake of their current re-invention. The 69 Eyes have written this same song a hundred times and have done it better at least half that. “Black Lipstick” also has the strange fate of making it sound like Spider and Peter Steele may have had encounters with the same woman.
Other than that and the utterly flat “VHS,” though, the album bounces along with enough retro goth charm to evoke a smile from the listener. Spider has not spent his years of toil and study idly; to some degree he’s found the working formula, and it’s all to the credit of “The Noble Rot.”
When the band released “New Wave,” one of the more common themes of the reviews of it was that it was fun, but lacked real substance or staying power. This is not true for “The Noble Rot,” which stands strong with memorable tracks like “Play God or Play Dead.”
Twice, we see the possibilities of real synthesis between the ‘old’ Powerman and the ‘new.” Both “Special Effects” and “Movie Blood,” stick to the game plan of heavy-handed synthetic beats, but bring some teeth with loud, brash choruses and snapped off vocals that ring true to the ear of the Powerman purist.
To that end, tip of the cap all around to the production team. The bass is deep and resounding, the riffs, for what they are, cut effectively, and Spider sounds convincing and brazen in his intonations. It’s rare in the digital music age to be wowed by the mere production of a record, but “The Noble Rot” positively bristles with rich sounds and deep experiences.
This new album sees Powerman 5000 in a new space, but, it is a space in which Spider and company appear to feel very comfortable. The songs are punchy and catchy, which is exactly the kind of thing Spider has been building toward for more than ten years now. Powerman 5000 is dead; long live Powerman 5000.
No comments:
Post a Comment