REVIEWS

Android Lust
Resolution (Box Set)

Synthellec Music

Posted: Monday, January 25, 2010
By: Ilker Yücel
Editor

For more than a decade, Shikhee has been stunning audiences as Android Lust through her unique style of industrial, wrought with sonic experimentation underscoring lushly melodic songwriting and intense lyrical themes. She's been referred to as a female equivalent to Trent Reznor - a valid comparison, although it thankfully does not diminish the impact of Shikhee's twisted musical visions, stemming from a singularly emotional perspective that ranges wider than the focused angst and rage of Nine Inch Nails and other industrial acts. Her 1997 debut album Resolution was critically acclaimed and gained her recognition for her complex arrangements of deceptively simple loops and dark atmospheres, topped off by her signature whispered rasp and crushing screams. From the pulsating bass and grim pads of "Suffer the Flesh" to the clanking percussion and rubbery smooth bass lines of "Spine," Resolution indicated to the world Shikhee's mastery of darkly erotic ambience without sacrificing any of the venom commonly associated with the genre, as evident on tracks like "Used" and "Heathen." The accompanying remix album, Evolution featured several new songs as well as remixes from the likes of Gridlock, Occultechnologies, Crocodile Shop, and I, Parasite, as well as a remarkably faithful piano-driven version of Bauhaus' "Slice of Life." From the aggressive dance of the Musculus Infinitus remix of "Suffer the Flesh" by Occultechnologies to the glitch-laden drill & bass of Gridlock's Grandma Moses version of "Cherished Agony," which is a far cry from the piano-drenched goth of the original version, Evolution was aptly named as the remixes extended her style into other realms that incorporated themselves into her music on following albums. However, as her fan base has grown significantly since those first two releases, Tinman Records is no longer in existence, making Resolution and Evolution long out-of-print... until now.

Available in a very limited edition box set through her own web site. Shikhee now presents to her fans this document of her development as a songwriter and musician. The Resolution box set includes both original releases, as well as a bonus disc of Rarities, Demos, and B-Sides, compiled from various original sources, and detailing the creative process at work as original versions of songs like "Sin," "Spine," and "Used" are presented alongside songs like "Prisoner" and "Down," both of which predate Android Lust. Even in these songs, which by the standards of today would seem primitive, it's easy to discern the inimitable sense of melody and song structure that would define Shikhee's music, along with her innate sense of daring as she culls the strangest sounds from the most rudimentary equipment, going further than most artists do in their formative years. Like any good box set, however, Resolution comes with more than just music, also offering an exclusive T-shirt, a pewter pin of the Android Lust logo - based on body art Shikhee became known for in her live shows more than a decade ago, a poster, sticker, and a booklet with lyrics and previously unseen photos. All of this for less than $100, Shikhee certainly gives her fans the most bang for their bucks with this box set, making it not only an excellent chronicle of Android Lust's early years, but also an ultimate example of one of the most creative artists to emerge from the dark electronic underground since its formation.