Deathboy

Music To Crash Cars To
(Wasp Factory Recordings)

Pop Will Eat Itself was probably one of the most influential industrial-rock bands to ever come out of Britain. With a signature, though ever changing, sound, PWEI forged a legacy that won’t soon be forgotten. And, when they collapsed, they left a mutually unforgettable hole in music that may never be filled. Deathboy makes an honest attempt to change that.

Echoing the tone of Clint Mansell’s vocals from earlier PWEI, Scott Lamb (AKA Deathboy) leads an electro-industrial-rock assault on the common clichés of the British techno-industrial musical machine. Sure, coming from a rave/techno background, Deathboy features a few VNV-esque touches, but nothing so prominent as to take away from the well-tempered guitar-fuelled electro that the band pumps out. Where PWEI was more of a hybrid, with touches of funk, rap, and reggae, Deathboy is what it would sound like if Clint’s current electronic experiments also featured vocals and more accessibility in songwriting. The main flaw, though, lies in the vocals. The songs are mildly stunted by the lack of vocal range displayed. Great pop touches are often held back by the inability to deliver power to the voice during choruses, a trait shared with Mansell that Clint knew how to overcome through mild changes in vocal tone, though Lamb still needs some time to grow into his vocals comfortably.

And the songwriting itself is very enjoyable when not being dragged down by difficult lyrics. Many just lack the comfortability of seeming genuine, even if cliché, and Lamb (and his lyrical cohorts) often resort to easily written and overused rhymes, ridding themselves of meaning or complexity in favor of ease. The sheer banality of a song like “Decimate”, which could be good with different lyrics, would drag the whole album down, were it not for the grace with which the calmer melodies of “Parasite” and the synthpoppy dancability of “Change (Apocalypse Remix)” are deftly handled. Other tracks like “Hellisontheway” and the static drums of “Killer” show great promise that has been so far undiscovered in this artist, who has released a half dozen albums free online (though this is the first available for sale).

With some more thought, a little fine-tuning, and more of the wit that I know Lamb possesses, PWEI’s hole might be filled yet. Check out more from Deathboy for free at deathboy.co.uk.

 

from IndustrialnatioN Magazine #19