After waiting 8 years for a new full-length record, Battle Tapes hits us with a great album filled with experimentation and soundscapes that fit the band in an amazing way. Featuring industrial sounds, a little bit of Justice, and even some Violator-era Depeche Mode, Texture has a ton of great things going for it, although the final two tracks leave a little bit to be desired. Still, an absolute recommendation, and I hope that the boys keep going with this sort of sound into the ... read more

Man, this *really* wasn't great. An album that seemed to feel incredibly messy and inconsistent, while *also* happening to still feel derivative of other bands and even a little of themselves. From long and tedious ballads to out-of-place Daft Punk ripoffs, Avenged Sevenfold manages to show that even when they're trying to experiment with something more progressive, they still somehow manage to make music that someone's probably going to sue them for.

Favorite Tracks: Life Is But A Dream... , ... read more

SP5 is finally here, after nearly two decades of waiting! How does it hold up? Not the best... although, in my opinion, better than most people give credit to. The album basically doesn't sound like a Sneaker Pimps project, aside from very few aspects here and there, and there are some pretty notable stinkers in the mix here, like "Love Me Stupid". HOWEVER! The tracks that shine here REALLY shine, and Simonne Jones' voice brings a lot to the table in a way that Kelli never did. ... read more

....yeah no, I really don't like this project. While I'm typically a fan of experimental music, it really just doesn't fit in Chris' sound scape in the way that it'd fit with someone else. Many of the songs are rather hard to listen to, and overall the thing kind of just feels unfocused and not very good. A shame.

Favorite Tracks: Art Bleeds Money
Least Favorite Tracks: Dyscalculia, Buy Fuck Die

Going from Metanoia to Alive In New Light is such a wild feeling of whiplash to me. While there are definitely still elements from that project here that shine brightly, the overall direction on this album seems to be into a (slightly) brighter and peppier feel, which isn't bad, don't get me wrong! Still, part of me wishes we could've gotten more of that sweet melancholia on this album. Still a great listen, though!

Favorite Tracks: Alive In New Light, Exit, Big Man
Least Favorite Tracks: Body ... read more

My favorite IAMX project by a long shot. The sheer darkness present in the lyrics and the sound of this album feel crushing, like the world is about to end with a quiet whimper rather than some hellish apocalypse. Chris' voice is at its absolute peak on this album, and every track brings something truly amazing to the table, whether it be the drug-filled mania in "Aphrodisiac", the sense of paranoia on "The Background Noise", or the tear-inducing beauty in both ... read more

The Unified Field is... weird. While it certainly has a lot of amazing tracks that I still keep listening to this day, like "Land Of Broken Promises", overall this album feels a bit weaker than the previous few albums. While definitely not a *bad* album by any sense of the word, something about either the production or the lyrics or some other unexplainable thing keeps me from liking it as much as Chris' other work from around this time. I don't know.

Favorite Tracks: Land of Broken ... read more

Volatile Times marks a noticeable shift in Chris' overall sound, incorporating more varied elements from other genres like dark cabaret to create something amazing. The 2010s in general were a great time for IAMX, and having the start of the decade be an album like this certainly doesn't disappoint in that notion. Very high recommendation!

Favorite Tracks: Volatile Times, Bernadette, Music People, Ghosts of Utopia
Least Favorite Tracks: I Salute You Christopher

Kingdom of Welcome Addiction was, for the longest time, the only IAMX album I hadn't listened to, back when I listened to stuff more casually. Upon giving it a shot, however, I realized just how underappreciated and good the album really is. While definitely not as strong as The Alternative, KoWA still has some incredibly strong sounds and tracks, particularly "My Secret Friend", which happened to be one of my first introductions to Imogen Heap! Sadly underrated to this day.

Favorite ... read more

HERE WE GO! My second favorite IAMX release of all time, and one that features what I believe to be Chris' best track he's ever made, "Spit It Out". The Alternative is where IAMX as a project starts to REALLY shine bright, freeing itself from the shackles of Sneaker Pimps fully and letting loose the raw and unadulterated sound of the project. Featuring hit after hit, the album is an absolute must-listen to anyone even remotely thinking to giving a shot to the project.

Favorite ... read more

Kiss + Swallow has a similar issue that Splinter had, being that the sound shift leaves the overall project somewhat rough around the edges. Especially when comparing some of the finished tracks to the demos leaked from SP4, you can somewhat tell that this wasn't quite meant to be an original production. With that said, the overall sound on this album still began showing the sheer amount of potential Chris would eventually manifest with some of his later albums.

Favorite Tracks: Kiss and ... read more

One of the best trip hop albums ever put out, and one of the best things Chris ever worked on, Bloodsport manages to have a sense of melancholia that many albums don't really seem to properly grasp. It's considerably more refined than Splinter, and features a ton of amazing tracks that I refuse to stop playing. Truly the best that Sneaker Pimps ever did, and ever will, put out. Fantastic!

Favorite Tracks: Black Sheep, Grazes, Loretta Young Silks
Least Favorite Tracks: -

An underappreciated album in both Sneaker Pimps and Chris Corner's repertoire, Splinter marks the true shift where the band gets a proper hang of what their sound would go on to sound - dark, moody trip hop that one would listen to in their dark place. While still having some rough spots around the edges that Bloodsport would fix, this is still a great album, and a definite listen to someone who came into the community through IAMX like I did.

Favorite Tracks: Half Life, Lightning Field, ... read more

This is going to be a pretty unpopular opinion, especially among hardcore Sneaker Pimps fans, but I really don't care for this album all that much. While there are definitely songs that I still listen to every now and then, like "Wasted Early Sunday Morning" or "Roll On", the sound on this album feels limited and lacking. Sure, it might be because of it being the band's first album, but something about many of the tracks just sounds like pretty run-of-the-mill trip hop, ... read more

While I might be a decent fan of Chris' modern work, there was something about this release that feels... off. I'm not sure exactly what it is, but his singing doesn't quite sound correct in tracks like "In Bondage" or "Radical Self-Love". That being said, there were still some great tracks here, and the instrumentation was on point. Cautious recommendation.

Favorite Tracks: Thanatos, Disciple
Least Favorite Tracks: In Bondage, Radical Self-Love

An album that I originally gave a 75, after listening to the tracks on loop for a while I began to get really enthralled with just how good the music actually is. Sure, there's songs on the album I really don't care about to this day, and the radio gags drag on with certain songs, particularly on "Do It Again", but the overall package has significantly increased in quality in my ears. Truly a magnificent album, and one that really makes me want to dive further into stoner ... read more