Pop Will Eat Itself

Amalgamation (Interscope)
by Scott Hefflon

Being a closet fan of Pop Will Eat Itself since Go Box Frenzy, or whatever it was called, it was a pleasure to acquire their latest EP Amalgamation (Interscope).

Returning to sample-splattered techno/industrial beats laced with sarcastic “the world according to PWEI” rap/ranting, the songs reestablish the humor, the ego, and the tight, heavy, hip hop pop that made them so distinctive. To my ears, they had adopted a lethargic too-cool homie attitude on Cure For Insanity (RCA) back in ’91 that was monotonous techno/house hell for those of us who had been inspired by the self-hyped, nothing-is-sacred white-boy snicker of “Beaver Patrol,” “(Time to Get) Ugly,” and the killer cover of (sic) Sigue Sigue Sputnicks’ “Love Missile F1-11.”

It’s ’94, and this “PWEI product contains dangerously high levels of Very Metal Noise Pollution.” Just ask ’em, they’ll have no qualms about telling you! The CD jacket also has more credits, affiliations, remixes and cross references than any seven-song EP I’ve ever seen. When you combine PWEI Product, Infectious Records, Nothing, Interscope, and Atlantic, how can you fail? If you’ve been grooving to NIN, Ministry, Machines of Loving Grace, Chemlab and a whole slew of dance/techno/guitar-driven industrial that ranges from hardcore to hip hop influences, add The Incredible Pop Will Eat Itself to that list of greats.