Liquidizer

Album review

It's a product of its time, and it wanted nothing more than to be seen as such -- the credits list for the album names every last sample source, ranging from Prince and Sonic Youth to Apocalypse Now and the news and views of 1988 and 1989. But it's the breadth which makes Liquidizer a thrilling experience, even if the end results are oddly enough one-dimensional: instantly catchy power pop fed through industrial, techno, and hip-hop approaches, topped off with Mike Edwards' confident bark. However, it's better that than just another guitar pop album, and even if Jesus Jones reflected trends rather than started any on their own, their debut album was still a confident statement of purpose, demonstrating that yes, there was such a thing as wide-ranging listening eclecticism. As such, Liquidizer, like the late-'80s work of Jesus Jones' grubbier brothers-in-arms, Pop Will Eat Itself, may not make anyone forget the two groups' obvious joint inspiration, the Bomb Squad, but the principle was still the same: eat the world, spit out the results at loud volume. "Never Enough" was the overdriven semi-radio hit in America, but "Info Freako" is the real kicker of the bunch, with a blasting chorus that would silence most metal bands of the time and probably Edwards' best trademark "yeaaah!" Elsewhere, heavily processed aggro-tech-funk that's kissing cousins with the likes of World Domination Enterprises and Renegade Soundwave slams up against bubble-salsa piano lines and Beach Boys backing harmonies, all aimed at instant memorability and, clearly, pop success without apology. Top it off with the aggressively friendly sarcasm of Edwards -- he has his targets, however couched in metaphor, and doesn't spare them the edge of his tongue -- and Liquidizer holds up better than might be expected. Compared to most wretched American nu-metal bands a decade later, Jesus Jones doesn't forget the sheer fun of hip-hop as well as the potential rage.

© Ned Raggett /TiVo