*V*I*R*G*O* Wing Entrance
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MODERATE EXTREMISM
by *V*I*R*G*O* 2002 Intraxis Productions, Inc. www.intraxis.com/virgo Review for Stonewall Society |
Uh... maybe - but happily, much more! On MODERATE
EXTREMISM, this serious club kid of the brave new digital age displays classic
artistic resourcefulness - and crafts his "dark & sensual
electro-fantasies" out of all the available cutting-edge music technology
surrounding him. V*I*R*G*O* voraciously gobbles up audio loops, samples,
sequences, sound effects, digital edits, street sounds, "music
concrete", etc., and weaves them into well-produced, dance-club type mixes.
His sonic bag of tricks even includes making usable musical elements out of the
digital noises & pops others might discard as "distortion". He
loves running vocals, guitars, basses, percussion - you name it - thru a fuzz
box for effect. V*I*R*G*O* also exhibits a healthy fondness for good ol'
fashioned analog synth sounds.
MODERATE EXTREMISM's overall production - including innovative vocal e.q.'s,
sumptuous reverbs and great-sounding percussion/rhythm beds - is excellent. One
of my favorite tracks - opening song "You Suck" has perhaps the
heaviest guitar power-chords ever burned to disk.
But this album does more than just capture the dark hipness of today's drum
machine-driven gay male urban club culture. For better or worse, MODERATE
EXTREMISM also accurately reflects its emptiness, shallowness and cruelty. In
songs with names like "Parasite", "Mutual Destruction",
"Soul Disease", "Rent Boy", "Black Leather" and
"Kink", V*I*R*G*O* sings of a world dominated by sex addicts,
hustlers, verbal abuse, self-destructive behavior, un-safe sex, hedonism, sado-masochism,
kinky sex and extreme pessimism.
Needless to say - one will find no bright side to ANYTHING on this CD. Every
song is in a minor key - as is nearly every chord on the album. To call
V*I*R*G*O*'s world, as described in MODERATE EXTREMISM, "sad" (as it
surely is) is to miss the point. There is something in the combination of the
intensely depressing, nihilistic lyrics; dispassionate, detached vocal style;
and the often brutal, stark music production that makes the
world-according-to-VIRGO downright remorseless and cold. This is strong
stuff. As summed up in the final song "Walking Wounded" - all is
pathetic & "intrinsically flawed".
For the most part, Virgo sings the CD's songs in a middle range/matter of fact
manner. But here and there he lets loose, displaying a really luscious low
end and a very exciting top this listener finds quite appealing - there is a
beautiful voice here.
The sometimes straightforward, deadpan vocal style on MODERATE EXTREMISM is
especially disturbing on the two blues covers. V*I*R*G*O*'s interpretation of
the Lewis Allen classic STRANGE FRUIT comes off entirely devoid of irony per the
song's underlying message of social injustice & racism - the singer simply
seems to enjoy singing the gruesome lyrics at face value. Likewise, in his
rendition of Burke & Webster's BLACK COFFEE, V*I*R*G*O* again just sings the
words, with no subtle longing to the loneliness of "the blues"
underneath. It's as if the world has no heart for him to appeal to.
Ah... the brave, new digital age....
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