Illegal Teenage Bikini – I am Not Job – Review

Illegal Teenage Bikini

I am Not Job (Precipice)
by Wa

Illegal Teenage Bikini‘s I Am Not Job is the first solo release from Patrick Ogle (aka Padraic Ogl), formerly of Projekt Records’ act Thanatos. For Ogle, Illegal Teenage Bikini is not just an experimental one man act, but a re-invention from the ground up.

Illegal Teenage Bikini’s incorporation of acoustic guitars, loops, and electronics create a rumination on the passage of time and history, a soulful exploration of Americana that’s very reminiscent of Leonard Cohen, Willie Nelson, or even Johnny Cash, but with a folktronica, if you will, lens. This combination is quite fresh and intriguing.

Ogle, the reclusive human behind the haunting, is a complicated fellow. While he makes his living as a writer for the Miami Herald (yes, home to the writings of Dave Barry), he also has been acclaimed as one of the more influential Goth musicians of the new young guard. While he does not yet earn a living wage from his music, Ogle seems unwavering in his passion for creation. Even by his own admission, Ogle is a “broke writer, who happens to write music.” Someone who feels no need to make his music more marketable in order to make the house payment. This honesty and charm shine through in tracks like “I Am Not Job.” His creativity might have some roots in his genetics. His father, Boyd, has painted most, if not all of the cover art for Patrick Ogle’s work, both Thanatos and Illegal Teenage Bikini.

But while he doesn’t compromise his musical vision, clearly Ogle’s work with William Tucker in Thanatos on their album Blisters has affected his new work as a solo artist. The late Tucker recorded, toured, and produced with such luminary bands as Ministry, Foetus, Chris Connelly, Revolting Cocks, Ween, Pigface, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, KMFDM, Chemlab, 16 Volt, Thanatos, The Final Cut, and Chainsuck. Track six, “Drop the Dime,” is perhaps Tucker’s final new work to be released. A song filled with a wonderful kaleidscope of sound.

Each song here is less story and more atmosphere. Lyrics are used less for telling a story, and more for setting and tone. The infamous experimental electronic musician Robert Rich mixed and mastered I Am Not Job. Sam Rosenthal (of Black Tape for a Blue Girl and owner of Projekt Records) was responsible for the understated design. I Am Not Job is a complex work that seethes with new creative life.
(http://www.wtiirecords.com/releases/p007.html)