LEÆTHER STRIP - Anal Cabaret
Songs: 5  Time:  27:30
Claus has receive quite a lot of slack over the past few years. With last spring’s new Leæther Strip CD, some of his fans returned to his side, noting that the sound of Self-Inflicted was more aligned to his original recordings.  On this new Soft Cell tribute EP, Claus took the sound of Self-Inflicted and carried it into the future while at the same time stepping back in time to cover some of his favorite pieces.  Anal Cabaret contains 5 covers of songs that Claus quotes as meaning "a great deal to me."  It is vividly apparent just how much this pieces did mean to him, as his versions are flawless, heartfelt renditions.  On Sex Dwarf he maintains the quirky sequences while adding in his own style of vocal distortion and hard hitting beats.  On Baby Doll Claus utilizes a firm beat, superbly delivered / non-manipulated vocals, and a crushing rhythm.  One of the things that makes this EP interesting is to hear Claus’ updated sounds replacing those of the dated pieces.  This is most apparent on Insecure Me.  While the actual composition of the piece does retain its age, the newer sounds add a strange but appealing edge to it.  A slower, more atmospheric piece, Youth, rounds out the EP at a leisurely pace.  Claus’ raw vocals are right on the mark, showing the world that he does not need to hide behind a wall of distortion.  Anal Cabaret is a fine release and I’m sure Claus feels much better about his music now that he had the chance to pay homage to one of his favorite / inspirational bands.  All that is left to wonder is how Marc Almond feels about these versions……
  
ZOTH OMMOG                              Leæther Strip is:
Norsk-Data-Str. 3                             Claus Larsen
61352 Bad Homburg                        Leæther Strip homepage:
Germany                                            http://www.leaetherstrip.com
Fax ++49 (0)6172 946 969
ZOTH OMMOG homepage:
http://www.eclipse.de