I Know That I Suck

Skinny Puppy – Mythmaker

I was ready to bag this album. The Greater Wrong of the Right had engendered some high expectations, but just yesterday I gave their latest album, Mythmaker, one last listen and found that it had suddenly raised significantly in my estimation. Maybe it was because I was jogging when I listened to it this time (a bit of adrenaline can be just what some music needs to be appreciated), or maybe it was because my shitty iPod earphones finally gave up the ghost on Friday (ripping them to pieces was ever so satisfying) and I bought new ones; cheap ass thirty dollar Sony jobs but they still sound like a chorus of angels when compared to Apple's headphones, which do their best to reproduce the acoustic properties of an epileptic beating a trash can lid during a violent fit.

Whatever the reason, I've decided it's not so bad. It's certainly a departure from their signature sound (even more so than The Greater Wrong of the Right or The Process) and even though it is a logical progression from their previous album, it sounds more than anything like the fractured dance pop of Oghr (vocalist Ogre's side project that he worked on during the years that Skinny Puppy were broken up). Compared to what would be considered their classic albums it's extremely poppy and far less edgy or abrasive, but there's still quite a bit of interesting stuff going on musicwise. As usual these guys are masters of electronic texture and crazy beats that still somehow come out catchy.

A few tracks really stand out. 'Pedafly' is absolutely brilliant, with an awesome talkbox style hook that ranks among the most infectious things I've heard all year. It's followed by 'Jaher', based around a pretty acoustic guitar riff which showcases their downbeat, moody side. It's a bit of a weird album and not what I, or probably what anyone, expected from Skinny Puppy, but while it's certainly not amongst their best albums it has it's moments and is worth a listen.