Pigface

For industrial-rock aficionados, the name Pigface conjures up the image of a bandit collective. At some point, personnel from most of the genre's heavyweights have taken part in the controlled chaos led by drummer Martin Atkins. And maybe this has been the group's greatest limitation: With so many ideas going...

By Norman Narvaja

April 24, 2003

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For industrial-rock aficionados, the name Pigface conjures up the image of a bandit collective. At some point, personnel from most of the genre's heavyweights have taken part in the controlled chaos led by drummer Martin Atkins. And maybe this has been the group's greatest limitation: With so many ideas going on, Pigface albums often feel like they're about to burst. Thankfully, there's a stronger sense of direction on the band's latest, Easy Listening.

Granted, a few people will scratch their heads at the sound of former Kittie guitarist Fallon Bowman, but she works surprisingly well on the strangely funky opener "Mind Your Own Business." Vocals from Seibold (Hate Dept.) and Chris Connelly combine with Atkins' fierce drumming to make "Insect/Suspect" one of the album's most memorable cuts; similarly, for those who need to vent, the scalding "King of Negativity" should get the job done. There are a couple of meandering moments near album's end (the spoken-word "Binary Stream" seems oddly placed), but as a whole, Easy Listening is coherent and engaging: a good starting point for the curious and an improvement for the long-time fan.

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