I AM X - THE ALTERNATIVE (2006)

I AM X

Title: The Alternative (2006)
Producer(s): Chris Corner
Label: Major
Genre: Electropop
Length: 43:20




Chris Corner co-formed the successful electronic group Sneaker Pimps back in the mid-90s and quickly fired their glittery-sounding singer Kelli Dayton for a voice that would distance them from the sounds of the then popular genre of trip-hop. Corner wound up picking up the microphone and while the band gained more critical praise for the decision, the direction of the music changed just subtly enough to bypass the ears of a very finicky mainstream market.
There is gossip that the Sneaker Pimps' fourth full-length was rejected by the label because they were unhappy with Corner's vocals and again wanted a female at the front helm and while the band went about trying to reach a compromise on the issues, Corner went off to do his own thing.
Admittedly, in theory, Corner's I Am X project isn't miles and miles departed from the Sneaker Pimps' sound. Both feature electronic soundscapes crafted as much for the mind as the body and both feature very similar vocal and lyrical themes.
At times, Corner sounds like Morrissey meets Depeche Mode, or a male-fronted version of Goldfrapp's first two gloomy and dark meets sexy carnival-type music.
There are some serious stiff-arm jobs on the album - possibly messages to the critics who think his singing brought the Pimps down a few notches on the cool belt - like The Alternative, which is a hair's length away from Corner showing off like a superstar should. It's a song that's funky and danceable and sexy without Corner making an emotional martyr out of himself.
On nearly every track, the music is unique and far-out, like on President, a twisted elephant ride at the circus, spooky and weird, yet with just the right sense of fun to keep you from completely hiding under the covers.
Corner gets emotional in an androgynous kind of way on the gently hypnotic Lulled by Numbers, a poem set to music and melody with satellite bleeps and echoes and a hidden message lain underneath the great drums and overall feeling of the ominous track. On the other end of the sensitive scale, Corner rages on The Negative Sex, by spitting out contempt amidst a funky beat and a gaping void in the background that threatens to swallow the whole affair but doesn't, instead funnelling Corner's message into a furious assault that really shouldn't be danced to, but you'll want to regardless.
Spit It Out is a fun electropop track that could very likely have seniors twirling in circles with their arms in the air, it's so bright and happy while Bring Me Back A Dog is crazy, with anarchical beats that sound like a mechanical warehouse gone out of control with life. Lyrical content borders on biting social commentary without lecturing. Corner just tells you his take on it and whether you agree with him or not, he'll have you nodding your head to the music at least.
Corner has a soft and delicate voice that is sexy in a way that has nothing to do with his masculinity.
Much of the music sounds like a throwback to the 80s new wave movement, warped with less of a bubbly Abba-type surface and infused with more mood, emotion and swagger befitting a man who likes to flout his differences.
While I Am X may have started out as a side project for Corner to keep himself busy until the next Sneaker Pimps issue, he has hit his stride as a musician crafting unique pieces of art on The Alternative and to such a degree in fact, that he may have outgrown and outdone the Sneaker Pimps in the process.

Check out the free download of I Am X's "President" here.

TAGS: music reviews