I’d Rather Be Tweaking
It might be hard to imagine, but back in the early 1990’s, principle Portishead member Geoff Barrow was a mere tape op for Massive Attack’s Blue Lines. Often brilliant artists surround themselves with more than a gaggle of friends and their carefully selected associates go on to be as good as them. The same can now officially be said of former Nine Inch Nails alumnus Chris Vrenna and his own band Tweaker. Tweaker’s new record 2 a.m. Wakeup Call, the follow up to 2001’s The Attraction to All Things Uncertain, is a fantastic odyssey through the dreamy, ethereal electronic rock of Vrenna’s creation.Unlike the last album, Tweaker is no longer a solo project as Vrenna is joined by Clint Walsh the guitar player for Juliette and the Licks and The Dwarves. The album also boasts a producer’s dream lineup of singers. Robert Smith of the Cure lends his trademark gothic timbre to the hard bass synth groove “Truth Is,” crooning “oh baby you’re so easy so easy to believe/yeah baby you’re everything to me, she said.” Jennifer Charles of Lovage and Elysian fields adds her own sensual charm to the lush sleep-evocative album closer “Crude Sunlight.”
Similar to the previous album, two songs add the perfect diamond to this gold ring accomplishment in the form of “Sleepwalking Away” and “It’s Still Happening” featuring Hamilton Leifhauser of the Walkmen and Nick Young of A.I. respectively. The former bounces through with superb noisy beats and guitar while the latter conjures a dust storm of blips and high tone melodies. Tweaker’s post-industrial sound is based far more on melodic texture and challenging song structure and that’s why it works so well. Any fan of downtempo electronica, industrial music or electronic rock should go purchase this album.
Leave a Comment