Morphine - Good (Accurate/Distortion; Rykodisc, 1992)

 

"We're not exactly mellow... low-rock—fuck rock—is what we like to call it."

  - Mark Sandman

Morphine’s 1992 debut record is a masterclass in minimalism. The Boston trio effortlessly combine blues, jazz, and punk rock into an experience that is more akin to a personal concert than just a record put to wax. Mark Sandman’s two-stringed bass played with a slide initially seems like a bizarre choice but quickly becomes wholly intrinsic to the band’s signature “low rock” sound. From the first notes of the opening title track, “Good”, accompanied by Dana Colley’s intoxicating baritone saxophone and Jerome Deupree’s precise jazz drumming, Morphine quickly hooks you in with their luscious and truly unique presence.

The band’s sparse use of instruments, predominantly limited to the bass-sax-drums triad, along with vocals, is completely intentional. This makes the rare inclusions of other sounds throughout the album more meaningful. Acoustic guitar trickles in, deep in the mix, on “The Saddest Song”, acting like a call and response to Mark Sandman’s vocals. It acts as a narrative device in the song, perhaps representing a former lover Mark eulogises, regrets the thought of letting go. Additionally, the bass harmonica on “I Know You, Pt. 1” adds mystery and depth, a thick drone that cuts through an otherwise simple instrumental. Heavy reverb throughout adds to the vast longing filling the album, you are the only audience and the band is playing just for you.

The limited variation of instruments allows for every element to be pushed to its limits, used in intricate and adept ways, which adds to why Morphine is such a special band. Tracks like “Have a Lucky Day” and “Lisa” allow the spotlight to be shone on Jerome and Dana, their own abilities showcased at their best. The group’s sound let every aspect to take centre stage with the way each song was built up, mixed, and produced; each listen of the record allows you to focus on a different member, on a different part of a song, to discover something that was otherwise deeply hidden away. Every song on Good is filled with an intimate and luscious liveliness and humanity, from the enigmatic yet deeply emotional, romantic, and personal lyrics and vocal delivery; to the quiet spoken and breathed interludes kept in songs like “You Look Like Rain”; to something as specific as the sound of Dana Colley’s baritone sax levers clicking and the deep breaths in-between notes on his solo “Lisa”. Mark Sandman’s vocals are somewhere between those of an undiscovered beat poet, a forelorn romantic, and a complete and utter madman. His vocals are intense yet still laconic and mysterious; especially with his use of a harmonica microphone, the delivery is warm and inviting, speaking directly to your soul, a direct dispatch into the subconscious. The combined sound of all three members creates a gorgeous noirish sound that doesn’t feel limited or constrained.

Good is such a mature and elegant debut for a band, for one that would go on to have a devoted cult following, not only during the band’s existence but even now, where people like me are discovering hidden and underrated masterpieces like this. Mark Sandman’s creative vision was already crystal clear here and would only grow stronger and more masterful throughout his discography with Morphine- and beyond. His music is that of intense, vivid dreamscapes of hedonistic misfits, imperfection, and pure unfiltered love for life and the people that fill the world. This pursuit was modus operandi that harkens all the way back to the namesake of the band, the mythological entity Morpheus.

The unique limited instrumentation gave the band a special place within not only the zeitgeist of 90s music but also a legacy that stands still now, their sound was just a step away from a multitude of genres. The choices they made to limit themselves, those that created “low rock” is what made the sound that nobody else has even dared touch or compare to. Good would only be the beginning of the experimentation that Morphine manifested and each following record would only lift the bar higher, push the boundaries further for what could be done with (mostly) only 4 instruments.

favourite tracks: Saddest Song, Claire, The Only One

Morphine - Yes (Rykodisc, 1995)

Much of Yes follows a mantra of capturing the essence of characters forged from frontman Mark Sandman’s mind, the record feels like a compilation of vignettes each bound by passion, hedonism, sensuality, lust: elements of a personification of fire. This theme is present all throughout the record, even in its artwork- a bold, burning fireplace with the silhouette of an owl statuette obscured by shadow; itself a nod to the band’s namesake Morpheus. Subtle imagery is core to the essence of the band. Yes was the precipice of the band’s pivot to greater expression of creative freedom. Where Good and Cure for Pain had set the baseline for the band’s signature “low rock” sound, this third album from the Boston trio had the band's ideals set in stone, with Billy Conway having fully replaced Jerome Deupree on drums, their more experimental and strange side began to bloom. It's all bigger, bolder and more organic.

The album opener, “Honey White”, kicks off the album with a fast paced beat which itself contrasts with every other Morphine album. From the get-go you know this album is different to the rest. The band’s explorations into capturing the essence of pleasure and lust start here. The night’s just begun but the party’s already on fire. “Honey White”’s sax and vocals take you by the hand into a fast dance, a pirouette, a centrifuge of unending energy; it ebbs and flows through the entire album. It’s not over until Morphine says it is. Mark Sandman’s lyrics here paint a vivid picture of desire, a manifestation of sin: lust; greed.

That pivot towards a feeling of ‘more’ is most obviously heard in "Radar" and "Super Sex" where Dana Colley brings a second saxophone into the mix – a party trick taking centre stage in their sound, itself almost an affront to the band’s minimalist sound (what do you mean they have more than three instruments?!) but yet it fits perfectly within the theme of Yes. Here, within the scope of the band’s sound, the pleasure and passion and, most notably, biblical greed and lust, are that tenor sax. One baritone isn’t quite enough: Morphine needs more, we need more, we need doublesax.

“Free Love” is an intense assault of sound: Sandman’s breathy and desperate vocals helps to fuel the storm; Colley’s deep baritone sax stabs into your soul; Conway’s drums distorts your perception. The song itself feels like it’s collapsing in on itself, the psyche of the narrator crumbling apart in insanity. The song is obscene and uncomfortable, perfectly capturing a moment, an idea, a character. It’s frantic and dark, a ball of pulsing chaos. It, coupled with tracks like "The Jury" and "Sharks" show the band's experimental edge, all a very obvious manifestation and dedication to Sandman's love of Beat generation writing, especially Jack Kerouac. "The Jury" especially is incredible with how it ebbs between two streams of consciousness that overlap and intertwine, creating a hypnotic and lustful number. Yes has some of the most interesting lyrical work that the band put out in their time that none of their other albums quite captured in the same way. 

Yes is a slow-burning album that, in a way, suffers great misfortune coming after the indomitable masterpiece that is Cure for Pain. The smouldering flames that the album leaves you with by the time the brutal tearjerker "Gone For Good" plays its final note make you want so much more. It's dazing mix of the salacious and passionate first half with the surreal Kerouacian second half makes it such a unique and incredible insight into Mark Sandman's creative subconscious and, at least in my opinion, the best Morphine album.

favourite tracks: Whisper, All Your Way, Sharks

VIAGRA BOYS - VIAGR ABOYS (2025) REVIEW

The Swedish post-punk unit released their fourth album, the pseudo-self titled viagr aboys, under the pretence that it would be “a bit [more] simple and stupid” than 2022’s politics and conspiracy driven Cave World, while still keeping the biting satire of their flavour of punk. The record marks their first under their own label Shrimptech Enterprises, following their departure from Year001, and so new freedom that they have seized by the reins.

The lead single, ‘Man Made of Meat’, opens the record perfectly, harsh riffs and wit with punchy drums set the stage for the weirdness to come in the album’s runtime. The low-fi style mixing emphasises their garage-punky, rough around the edges vibe. Perfectly complementing the sound and mixing, Sebastian Murphy’s crude and sardonic lyricism never fails to make a mockery of the wild misfits the world possesses, not excluding himself or the listener. viagr aboys lampoons crypto and health scams in ‘Store Policy’ and ‘Pyramid of Health’ yet also knows how to be gentle, like in the track ‘Medicine for Horses’.

The record is an extension of their previous but is a little larger-than-life; a little more gonzo, where Cave World observed the politics of the modern world, this release is the band’s observation of the chaos in which we live in on a more personal level. Instead of looking at the broader world, they dissect the nitty-gritty details of society, creating a caricature of the internet dweller– the modern human– while still keeping a warm personal side. There’s nothing normal and serious about the current world and politics, so why should they be serious about the music they make?

viagr aboys it's perfectly representative of what the band wants to be seen as: a prime example of what modern punk should be. The album is expressive and a unique album like none other, its humour mixed with excellent songwriting makes it one of my top albums of the year. It's simply just a fun album full of a chaotic whimsy, strange and charming; teeming with personality.

for fans of: Dead Kennedys, Amyl and the Sniffers, Queens of the Stone Age, Butthole Surfers

favourite tracks: Pyramid of Health, Uno II, The Bog Body

THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL AT 30

The Downward Spiral, released thirty years ago on March 8th 1994, is perhaps one of the most infamous of the decade. The brutal industrial concept album was a formative part of the surge in popularity of heavy music throughout the 1990s, pushing the industrial genre to the foreground. The sophomore Nine Inch Nails album has been subject to much controversy, as was much the case with the album and EP released prior. The album found itself at home in alternative and goth culture, becoming a cult hit with its contentious themes only making it more popular amongst fringe groups.

The record is an elegy of personal turmoil, a story of descent into hatred and depression, presented perfectly in a 14-song package. The Downward Spiral marked a paradigm shift for Trent Reznor and his Nine Inch Nails project, newly signed to Interscope Records. The record is a mechanical soundscape, eerie and dark. With his new record deal, Reznor had more creative freedom, which he certainly didn’t hold back on, making a visceral, raw, and importantly controversial masterpiece.

 

Coming hot on the heels after the 1992 EP Broken which was written and recorded in secret from his previous label TVT Records, Trent Reznor wanted to use his musical voice as a medium to express his emotional state. Signing onto Interscope Records following a feud with TVT, provided him with the freedom he needed to further his band. The Downward Spiral, is deeply personal with the protagonist representing a reflection of himself, a reflection of his own feelings of existentialism and sadness. The album’s themes express a feeling of losing oneself to a deep and foreboding depression that fuels hedonism, self-destruction, hatred, and despair, eventually leading to complete dehumanisation.

 

Two key songs from this album skyrocketed the band’s fame following the album’s release: Closer and Hurt.

Closer’s depraved porn groove found itself at home in clubs, despite Reznor deeming the song to have been misconstrued to be found in clubs and to be a hit in such environments. This song is eternally catchy and entrancing, its funky bassline and the use of a sample from Iggy Pop’s “Nightclubbing” forming a deep and breathy sounding beat to the track, making it danceable and almost alluring. The unlikely single- the second from the album- has become the band’s biggest hit and reflects the record’s protagonist’s descent into hedonism and self-hatred through sexual gratification and objectification. The protagonist finds himself perpetually unfulfilled, isolated, and soulless with his sexual drive being the only thing keeping him alive. He’s desperate to feel any emotion and sex is his only escape. The protagonist is destroying himself from the inside and grasping at straws as he desperately attempts to fulfil himself.

Closer is coupled with an equally disturbing and hedonistic music video, full abstract and obtuse sexual imagery and almost religious connotations. Filmed by famed director Mark Romanek, the music video found very little airplay on MTV due to its graphic nature but this only added to the cult appreciation of the band and reflected Reznor’s creative freedom throughout the creation of The Downward Spiral. The mad scientist’s laboratory setting of the music video reflects a feeling of desperation within the protagonist’s sexual drive and hedonism and no matter what pain and suffering himself and those around him go through, he will get what he desires. The song’s blunt and obvious sexual lyrics reflect this too, his only thoughts are that of gratifying his desires, stating that it will get him “closer to God”. This can either be seen as a sense of being satisfied or can be seen as an innuendo of climax. Here, the Downward Spiral “motif” appears close to the end of the song; this musical phrase appears throughout the album.

The other famous track from The Downward Spiral is Hurt. This song is the final track on the album, acting almost as a “credits sequence” to the album. Despite the lyrics being sung quietly for much of the song the track has distorted noise throughout, a static that makes even the most solemn lament on the album feel overwhelming and heavy. The album doesn’t give much respite throughout other than this song and A Warm Place, the feelings of overwhelming sadness and misery come greatly into the foreground in Hurt. The song reflects feelings of being stuck in depression, unable to move on while those around you do. The protagonist is reflecting back on himself, realising his mistakes and desires to be able to “start again a million miles away”. The song feels, in a way, redemptive, wanting to move on from one’s past and start again.

The song was made popular in the mainstream in 2003 by its cover by Johnny Cash in his final album released before his death, American IV: The Man Comes Around. Covered at the recommendation of producer Rick Rubin, the song became immensely famous with its music video (also filmed by Mark Romanek) winning a Grammy and an MTV Video Music Award for Best Cinematography. This cover was so influential and famous that Trent Reznor himself admitted that song wasn’t his any more and that he was “flattered” to see his own song covered by the legendary Johnny Cash, despite initially feeling like his most personal song had been taken away from him. However, this version of the song feels like it has a different interpretation than Nine Inch Nails’ original version. Whereas the original version can potentially represent a rebirth of sorts, a broken man emerging from the deepest depression anew, Cash’s cover is more of a reflection on a long life, a reflection on life’s regrets at the very inevitable end. Both songs are immensely meaningful but can have different interpretations depending on the listener.

Following the album’s release, the band set off on the Self Destruct tour to promote the album. One of the most infamous events of the tour is from their performance at Woodstock 1994, where Reznor and his live band emerged on stage covered in mud, making the festival go down in history as “Mudstock”. Photos taken by Joseph Cultice emerged following the band’s performance cementing the performance in legend. Nine Inch Nails also performed with David Bowie for select dates in 1995 for the Dissonance Tour leg, with select songs from the NIN discography being performed as a duet, notably Hurt being one. These shows formed the beginning of a friendship between Bowie and Reznor, leading to collaborations in Bowie’s album Earthling, with Reznor appearing in the music video for “I’m Afraid of Americans” and the two’s music appearing in the 1997 film Lost Highway, directed by David Lynch.

The Downward Spiral is a monumental album in industrial music, a masterpiece whose songwriting and production still hold up today, thirty years following its initial release. The record is a testament to Trent Reznor’s excellence as a musician. The album’s combination of metal riffs with funk and experimental synthesisers creates a phenomenal listening experience. It is a masterpiece of heavy, deeply emotional music, forever cemented within music culture as a controversial and personal album. Regarded by many to be Nine Inch Nails’ greatest album, it certainly lives up to that.

 

THE ALGORITHM - FILTER (Golden Robot Records, 2023)

 

Seven years after their previous album, Crazy Eyes, Richard Patrick’s industrial metal band makes a powerful return with The Algorithm. The album has been highly anticipated, and it most certainly does not disappoint. This album has a lot of the weight and power that I absolutely adore 1999’s Title of Record for. It’s unique, experimentative, and heavy. It’s quintessentially Filter. Richard Patrick himself noted that The Algorithm is “the Filter of the last 20 years” and he definitely is not wrong.

Patrick’s vocals throughout the album are incredibly strong; he certainly demonstrates his vocal versatility. The record also maintains the iconic guitar driven sound that is a main aspect of Filter’s flavour of industrial music. However, in this album the frontman has not shied away from including more synthesisers which he had seemingly avoided before, as he didn’t want to be “influenced” by Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor, who he has always held in high regard. Before forming Filter, he had been the touring guitarist for Reznor’s music project.

 

The Algorithm features a perfect mix of all the styles of Filter song, from the more upbeat and melodic tracks like “Summer Child” which feels like a companion song for the forever iconic track “Take A Picture” to the acoustic driven “Burn Out The Sun”, to the heavy industrial metal of “Threshing Floor”.

 

The first single of the album, “For The Beaten” features an experimentative riff performed by Zach Munowitz with whom Richard Patrick collaborated entirely over the internet. The song was released in October 2022, long before the album had been officially announced, and after his inclusion in the Nine Inch Nails reunion show in Cleveland in September 2022. His return to the spotlight helped build significant anticipation for the record.

Filter is currently touring in North America alongside Ministry, Rob Zombie, and Alice Cooper for the Freaks on Parade tour but will be touring the UK and Europe throughout March next year.

for fans of: Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, Linkin Park, Rob Zombie

favourite tracks: For The Beaten, Face Down, Threshing Floor

listen to this album for yourself... 

THE FRAGILE - NINE INCH NAILS (Interscope/Nothing, 1999)

 

"[It] was meant to feel like walking into the ocean and extinguishing yourself, fearlessly. Now it feels different... it feels like the opposite of that... it feels redemptive, in a way." was how Trent Reznor described how his interpretation of the song "La Mer" had changed over the years since it was first conceived for this monumental album at a low point in his life.

The Fragile explores the frailty and falliability of the human experience and mind, and doesn't cut any corners. The album has a total run time of (almost) one hour and 44 minutes on the original release and one hour and 52 minutes on the 2017 Definitive Edition. Reznor also explores several different genres throughout its playtime— from the familiar industrial to more experimentative modern classical. This creates a truly unique and raw record that certainly shows his musical talent and demonstrates the evolution of his style from its predecessor, The Downward Spiral released over 5 years prior. Trent Reznor's experimentative style shines through in this album with the fusion of multiple genres creating a one-of-a-kind masterpiece.

This album is also very collaborative, featuring several guest musicians, including: Adrian Belew (King Crimson), Dr Dre, Bill Rieflin (Ministry, Revolting Cocks, Swans, King Crimson), Charlie Clouser (Saw OSTs), Dave "Rave" Ogilvie (Skinny Puppy, Ministry, Front Line Assembly), and others. The record also has some stunning artwork that was created by graphic designer David Carson, who took and edited many photos for the album. He also contributed to the live and compilation/remix albums And All That Could Have Been which were released in 2002. His artwork also influenced the cover art for Things Falling Apart (2000), created by Rob Sheridan and one of the alternative covers for Not The Actual Events (2016) created by John Crawford. The artwork for The Fragile is beautiful and reflects the concept and themes of the album perfectly, with the slightly washed out colours adding to the melancholy feel of much of the album.

David Carson's description and explanation of the artwork for The Fragile. (source)

This record is sonically stunning, and had so much effort put in to make it such an intricately beautiful piece of art. Reznor definitely reveals his fragility in this album and unashamedly so. Every song cuts deep and feels so personal. It's solemn and desperate but also quietly hopeful and feels as if the music itself understands any struggles you might be going through. Trent writes music from the heart and makes music that feels beautifully relatable to the listener and this album captures that perfectly. I love this album so dearly, it is just so unbelievably gorgeous.

The Fragile will take you on through an emotional thresher, exploring anger, sadness, despair, hope, emptiness, greed... it is an incredible sonic adventure of introspection and discovery, a deep dive into a dark mind. So hook up your loudest soundsystem or get a good pair of headphones and listen to this record.

PLAY THIS MUSIC LOUD OR NOT AT ALL.
WITH YOUR FUCKING PHONE TURNED OFF.
TO HELL WITH ANY BULLSHIT.

Favourite Tracks: La Mer, Please, Just Like You Imagined, Complication, We're In This Together

listen to the album for yourself...