» Volatile Times by IAMX | Album Review / thetruejoe90

Monday 21 March, 2011

Volatile Times by IAMX | Album Review

Volatile Times by IAMX | thetruejoe90.com

With the recent insurgence of old “new romantics” and synthesisers from decades past, here we have a 21st Century equivalent. A new album from the former Sneaker Pimps producer Chris Corner who is known more commonly across Europe as IAMX. A man who in my opinion is the musical genius. A maestro in his art.

After three reasonably successful album releases, Volatile Times comes out at a time when the genre of new wave romanticism is perhaps at it’s highest since the depreciation of it in the early “noughties”. It’s never gone away, it has just become a little more of a distant, almost lost in the commercial charts dominated by teeny boppers, manufactured vocal bands and utter crap. (Other than Adele of course.)

I’m hoping that IAMX reaches out to a bigger audience because his work is tremendous. I’ve said this before when reviewing Kingdom Of Welcome Addiction. His work has got better over the years. More intricate, more strength, more passion.

On Volatile Times the passion has not wavered. Still intensely theatrical, almost old-fashioned cabaret as you’d expect in European bars and nightclubs where they adorn themselves with top hats, make-up and singing and dancing but with a sad story connected. The track Bernadette is a fine example of this which is reminiscent of The President which sits in the tracklisting of his fantastic second album, The Alternative.

I’m not going to say that he has progressed any with this release nor am I going to say that it is substandard. It is the same level as before but with additional songs. It could quite easily have been Kingdom Of Welcome Addiction 2. I would say though that Into Asylum and Cold Red Light have a greater depth than many of his tracks before. More grit, more muscle which is something that Corner as a rule doesn’t physically possess an abundance of. Instead he has great energy and incredible stamina which is felt from his music.

Volatile Times by IAMX is out now but only from his own website which is click-able HERE

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Tags: 61 seconds records, chris corner, dance, electro, iamx, indie, new romantics, new wave, volatile times

2 Comments

PerhapsNextTime says:
March 23, 2011 at 5:10 pm
I am usually a huge fan…have seen him perform as IAMX several times now. So it pains me to say without hesitation that this is his worst album since Splinter (yes, I am including his work with the Pimps as a comparison…please suck it up and deal with it). This album is bleak and depressing and not in any sort of way that I can relate to whatsoever. Chris needs to take a break…maybe do another album with the Pimps or just step away from the music scene for a while. I know he can turn it around because after Splinter he went on to do three amazing albums (Bloodsport, Kiss + Swallow, Kingdom of Welcome Addiction) with only one so-so album (The Alternative) in the midst of utter genius. [In fact, most of these songs sound like the sad, rejected b-sides that never made it onto The Alternative...] So I guess it was his time for another stinker (he is only human after all) though oh-boy does it stink! Here is hoping that he redeems himself with the next one, though I can wait a while if need be…
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- GayBlackandMarried says:
  April 4, 2011 at 11:57 am
  The previous poster is obviously a ****. This album should not be confused with what is spuriously released these days as an album. It is short on singles, and disavows the tools of the new-new wave faux-80s revivalists (big hooks and vintage moogs). In the same way that Bowie took on the ‘new wave boys’ in Scary Monsters so does Chris Corner tell the Glambert sucking soulessly entitled D/L culture that they are little *****. Does this disqualify it as a good album? Perhaps if you are a blowhard like ‘PerhapsNextTime’. If you have any respect for real music you will buy this album rather than sucking it off pirate bay and lamenting the absence of good gigs at your local American Idol toteing bajofest.
  Reply