Puscifer provide the project with their only original song so far, The Algorithm, building a post-punk rhythm section around a post-punk rhythm section and building around it dry guitar parts and a staccato harmonic link as a prop, where the vocals of Maynard James Keenan (who has outdone himself with the neologism ‘ Social Mediot’) and Karina Round alternate in a ping-pong like maths.
All in all a good, if not outstanding, characteristic composition that, right after Sessanta E.P.P.P., whets the appetite for the sequel Existential Reckoning.
Unlike Pluto's contribution, on the other hand, anticipates the usual soundtrack m.o. - a cover of an 80's hit/song or an evergreen song in modern electro form - Armond Arabshahi chooses Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics under his pseudonym.
However, the result is well worth the effort, with Arabshahi whispering mysteriously in duet with his Why Mona partner Joanna Jones in a soothing synthwave that endeavours to maintain its mystique in a powerful chorus.
Perturbator also moves stylistically into this space to join Kabbel on a more interesting song choice for the album: the b-side Violator Dangerous.
The Depeche Mode deep cut begins more as an homage to Word Up, but then extols James Kent's signature sound with an ascetic drum machine and stodgy 80s synth effects. Up until the roaring sound of a stun gun in the finale, the song's otherwise relatively risk-free execution may offer few valuable insights (or even new perspectives on the material), but if the superior original gets more attention as a result, there are only winners in the end.
Ramsey (‘a self-produced sinner/songwriter from Los Angeles’) takes his vocals into somnambulic delirium, allowing Leadbelly's Where Did You Sleep Last Night? to pulsate ethereally in slow motion and evolving the scenario into an angry fever dream with melodramatically muted string arrangements at the end.
It works quite appealingly (especially for the American Psycho atmosphere), but ultimately isn't gripping enough (per se) to keep you under its spell for long.
The collaboration between Ice Nine Kills and Reel Big Fish pushes the boundaries of good taste so grotesquely that it's again a joy: Katrina and the Waves' Walking on Sunshine turns into a marvellously idiotic game of muscle in the hands of the two bands, predictably warming up the original at the same time as overloading its steroid-pumped components. It intertwines ska-punk with saxophone, EDM primos and thick metal rumbles.
Carpenter Brut and Kristoffer Reig - as we know from Cheerleader Effect and ...Good Night, Goodbye - are a congenial combination where nothing can go wrong. That voice in that sonic aesthetic just creates a charismatic pop appeal that you just can't look away from.
From this point of view, Eyes Without a Face was a really good arrangement of the evergreen Billy Idol: beautiful and compelling, classy and with instant intense rotation guaranteed. But also a little formulaic and perhaps a little too humble in following the original - the fact that representatives Ulver (whose band are currently shuffling from single to single towards a new studio album) and Frank Weso are stated to be big fans of the song seems to oblige the duo to take a rather conservative approach - despite the excursion into spoken word and the implied big bridge.
Which means that ‘Eyes Without a Face’ may not be as successful as fans would expect, given the lineup and original material. But that's not to say it isn't: the cover works about as well as its American Psycho neighbour, Dangerous, but is addictive.
