Sunnypsyop
Ohgr, the nouveau-industrial collaboration betweenSkinny Puppy's Ogre Nevik and Mark Walk, returns with the sophomore chapter of its wry, 21st century schizoid man industrial shtick. The delicious, silly pun of its title is a knowing wink to longtime fans and paranoids alike, a telling hint of just how seriously the industrial music vets may take themselves. But their music is another matter, and the Ogre/Walk duo manage to cut through the slick showbiz hoodoo of more successful contemporaries likeMarilyn MansonandWhite Zombie, seeking no less than to tap into the rich tangled, if oft-oxidized  roots of industrial/electro rock, fromCabaret VoltaireandThrobbing Gristleto "HiLo"'s more dance-floor-friendly nods toOMDand the Silicon Teens. Punctuated with compelling digital noise, fervent beats, and deceptively soothing interludes, Ogre's processed voice haunts "JaKo" and "WaTergaTe" like a malignant computer virus. Yet there's an often playful '80s electro-pop sense at work throughout, from subtle melodic touches to the overall economy they bring to every track, even the propulsive sequencing of the instrumental "ShiTe". Enhanced CD also contains a video for the track "MaJik"--Jerry McCulley