Saturday 10 January 2015

The The Infected


The The Infected

Get It At Discogs
Infected's sound still suggests dance-pop, especially on the title track. But don't get the impression that it's made for dancing. Instead of the light fare displayed on Soul Mining, Infected's songs seethe instead of preen, and Matt Johnson's lyrics are laced with tension. Thematically, he plunges a lance into the exposed midsection of Great Britain, analyzing the state of modern urban life in the country. "This is the land where nothing changes," Johnson sings on the World Party-ish "Heartland." "A land of red buses and blue bloody babies/This is the place where the hearts are being cut from the welfare state." "Angels of Deception" matches rain-slicked verses to a powerful chorus flavored with gospel backup singers and enormous reverb percussion. With production tricks like this, Infected aligns itself with the dance-pop sound of its predecessor (and the prevailing sound of British pop music at the time). But there's no denying the record's acerbic lyricism or dark-toned instrumentation. "Sweet Bird of Truth" is gritty pop tinged with wartime radio chatter and muscular horns that somehow manage to be apocalyptic, and the sweaty finale "Mercy Beat" has a drink with the devil while dance-pop burns brightly in the background, sending embers into the London night sky. Synthesized horns and crashing drums converge around a mirthful Johnson lyric before the song finally fades to the weird tones of a looped guitar. Infected was the first true indication of Johnson's mercurial nature, and established the dissonance and reinvention of his later work

3 comments:

Flying Spaghetti Monster said...

It's difficult to talk about Infected without mentioning the brilliant full-length video that accompanied it. Classic!

Grebo said...

I love love *LOVE* this album - easily a desert-island disc for me. I feel you might give SOUL MINING's lyrics a bit of short-shrift - INFECTED certainly amps up the politics (to brilliant effect), but S.M. is, to these ears, a harrowing emotional journey. Hell, Johnson really never made a bad album. I often feel sad that his discography is so limited, but on the flipside, he never once has faltered.
Cheers for this!

Aid00 said...

Hello Grebo, Yer You Got Point With Soul Mining I Just Think Infected Is A Great Album
And Flying Spaghetti Monster Your Spot On With The Video Album

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