95%

I claimed, I claim and I will claim that Chris Corner’s parting from Sneaker Pimps was the best decision. I still don’t understand why he is always called SP ex-vocalist as the achievements of IAMX are in all aspects far greater than those of SP.
This album is IAMX flagship, a reflection of his twisted soul. IAMX tears himself apart and all his gloomy secrets and desires flow out.

Kingdom of Welcome Addiction rocks: a little bit of triphop and electronic, a little bit of guitar plus a bit of waltz and each element of this mechanism works perfectly. Nature of Inviting, despite quite calm tempo, contains heavy load, after listening to it you want more. I would compare it to Massive Attack from Mezzanine (by the way the cover of Volatile Times is very similar to the cover of this album). The title track, with its extremely rich melody and Chris’s voice, is breathtaking. My secret friend, featuring Imogen Heap, is an electronic ballad, kept in check by severe electronic drum. An I for an I, industrial and the heaviest one on the album, is Chris’s manifesto, damnation of consumers civilisation, the scream of decadence. Behind this scream there is a terrified person hidden, listening to I Am Terrified, I am also terrified, my soul is suffering along with Chris which is a proof of his maturity and talent. Think of England is an explosion of energy, giving instant acceleration, wilds! The Stupid, The Proud is a dance macabre, Chris dancing waltz and wagging his finger at us. In You Can Be Happy liveliness comes back and reaches apogee in The Great Shipwreck of Life. The album is closed by calm Running – I skip it and come back to the first track.

There is no weak point here, there are tracks for every kind of mood, alternatively cold and harsh but also complex ones exploding with melodious sounds. Although objective opinions do not exist and mine is close to fanaticism, listen to this album!

Tracklist:

01. Nature Of Inviting
02. Kingdom Of Welcome Addiction
03. Tear Garden
04. My Secret Friend (feat. Imogen Heap)
05. An I For An I
06. I Am Terrified
07. Think Of England
08. The Stupid The Proud
09. You Can Be Happy
10. The Great Shipwreck Of Life
11. Running


Other articles:

• IAMX - Metanoia - 2017-01-28 (Music reviews)
• M'era Luna 2016 - 2016-10-13 (Live reports)
• Interview with Chris Corner/IAMX - 2016-06-24 (Interviews)
• IAMX - Metanoia Tour - 2016-05-14 (Live reports)
• IAMX - The Unified Field - 2013-07-20 (Music reviews)
• IAMX - Kingdom of Welcome Addiction - 2013-07-15 (Music reviews)
• IAMX - Volatile Times - 2011-06-25 (Music reviews)
• IAMX - Spit It Out - 2008-09-07 (Music reviews)
• IAMX – Kiss & Swallow - 2008-06-04 (Music reviews)
• IAMX - The Alternative - 2008-03-19 (Music reviews)

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