Chris Corner made my day! Actually he made my whole next week with his new amazing album called "Kingdom Of Welcome Addiction", which is among the must-listens of this year. An elaborate work projecting the inadequacy in a pretentious life where emotions are plastic and we are all fake and empty. If you thought that "The Alternative" was a good album, that you still haven't heard Corner's new release, which to me is his best up to this very moment.
"Kingdom Of Welcome Addiction" is Corner's answer to the growing simplification of the music business, the complexity of the problems we surround ourselves with and the gloomy future we are supposedly going to dive into. The great variety of lyric topics range from the philosophical perception of life, the obscurity of feelings, the sexual ambiguity, the relations between friends and the modern frustration. As Corner's says for the album it could be seen "like Disney world but with lipstick, cynicism and wit" and after a few listens you get to understand what he means and it's kind of disturbing when you give it a decent thought.
Once again Chris Corner is upfront to his maximum, bringing out his hypersensitivity and painful sincerity, which may be too harsh to those used to lovey-dovey tracks set in a galaxy far far away, where love is the universal painkiller. IAMX has no medicine for your broken heart or teary eye, but "Kingdom Of Welcome Addiction" is his foray into the soul-healing, which has so many wounds and none of them seem to heal, despite all the promises in this Disney-alike world. Of course, the album is no easy listen and is not suitable for commercial use, which distinguish it from the majority of electro-indie material coming out lately. This shouldn't discourage you from spending some quality time with IAMX and explore the fascinating world of his newest work.
Songs to hear: "Kingdom Of Welcome Addiction", "My Secret Friend", "An I For An I", "Think Of England" and "You Can Be Happy"
Personal rating: 9 out of 10
