ANDROID LUST - Evolution
Songs: 12  Time:  58:15
It's about time for some new material from Android Lust, but until then I suppose we have Evolution to hold us over.  Consisting of 4 new tracks, 7 remixes, and one cover, Evolution showcases the extreme talent of singer / songwriter Shikhee.  Cherished Agony, the CD opener, follows the same pattern of musical programming and style as did her debut CD, Resolution.  Her roughed-edged vocals are laid upon a bed of enchanting sequences, deep rhythm structures, and smothered beats.  On Amnion, Shikhee puts her voice to rest and puts all of her energy into this noise-injected, electro-enhanced amalgamation of a tune.  Where Angels Lie is made up of a deep, pounding rhythm, clanking beats, and Shikhee's razor like vocals.  While the overall arrangement of the track is wonderful, I can't help but think that she could have mixed her vocals in a bit higher.  Eviscerated, the finale new piece begins with a creeped-out combination of scraping synths, a guttural 'huffing' sound, and mild synths.  As the track progressed, Shikhee introduces a bombastic, noisy beat that dominates the remainder of the piece until the close of the album.  Of the remixes, I found that some were exceptional and some were rather disappointing.  To begin with the good, Suffer the Flesh (Musculus Infinitus) is a great reworking of the original that adds in some acidic sounding sequences, which work amazingly well against the harshness of the rest of the piece.  Cydonia (never to be confused with the UK band of the same name!) take a swing at remixing Cruelty and they do a good job at it.  This slowly building piece adds a demonic twist to Shikhee's vocals.  My only complaint is that as the track progresses along there is this sense of building and building that never really reaches the crescendo I had hoped it would.  The multi-faceted Mick Hale (Crocodile Shop, D!v!s!on #9, DAMn!, etc.) overhauls Down into a wild techno injected dance piece that runs ahead at breakneck speed.  For what it is, I do appreciate the noise reconstruction performed on Cruelty and carried out by Gridlock.  The thing that really grabs me in this remix is the implantation of those odd snippets of beats that appear and then disappear in seconds.  As fond as I am of I, Parasite I was not overly excited by their remix of my favorite Android Lust tune, Refuse.  I had hoped that they would have added something even better to this already great track, but instead they take away from its original structure by transforming it into a noisy collage of music and vocals.  This is not the dance floor killer I had hoped it would be.  The cover of Bauhaus' Slice of Life is nicely done, with all of the elements of both the original and Android Lust's unique style meshed together.  Surprisingly enough Shikhee tones down some of her harsh vocal approach just long enough to pull this cover off.  Finally, Evolution also contains a CD ROM video for Refuse, which is mostly made up from concert footage.  To summarize, Evolution is a good CD that offers something for many.  As a predecessor to the next full length, it does its job and it does it extremely well.
       
TINMAN                                            Android Lust is:
PO Box 1114                                      Shikhee
New Brunswick, NJ 08903               Contact Android Lust @
USA                                                   P.O. Box 8283
e-mail: tinman@cnj.digex.net        Saddlebook, NJ 07663-8283    USA
TINMAN homepage:                     e-mail: androidlust@earthlink.net
http://users.aol.com/tinmanaux   Android Lust homepage:  http://home.earthlink.net/~androidlust
            
 

1)  Cherished Agony             2)  Amnion          3)  Suffer the Flesh (Musculus Infinitus)
4)  Refuse (This Rotted Heart)  5)  Cruelty (Gulag) 6)  Where Angels Lie
7)  Suffer the Flesh (Friction) 8)  Slice of Life   9)  Downer (CROCODILE SHOP rmx)
10) Cruelty (Desolate)          11) Cherished Agony (GRIDLOCK rmx)
12) Eviscerated