Junkies and Snakes

Album Review

Stylistically speaking, it's hard to pin Meg Lee Chin down, and that's probably a good thing. Her tenure in Pigface has had some effect (which can be heard in the messy percussion sounds), but dang if there isn't a hint of Björk in her vocal style (check out the sweetly sideways melody on "Thing"), and she heads off into jungle territory from time to time, as well. In the case of this seven-track EP, analysis is complicated by the presence of various remix artists — the "Bag Full of Fun Mix" of "Heavy Scene" gets much more drum'n'bassy than the radio edit that appears earlier in the program, while the "Subgenius Mix" of "Nutopia" is sort of a trip-hop excursion with an overlay of Beat poetry in the form of a hilarious Allen Ginsburg parody. Fans of the Damage Manual will know what to do with this stuff immediately; others may find it forbidding at first, but give it a few listens and the mischievously disguised hooks start to come through. Highly recommended.