*** Thanatos AN EMBASSY TO GAIUS (Projekt)
Singer/songwriter Pat Ogl
usurps traditional folk expectations, mixing his passionate political and
personal views with various musical flavorings ranging from romantic pop to
industrial. Ogl plays acoustic and electric guitars, bass, harmonica, and
percussion; he's joined occasionally by Rena Rice's pretty vocals and Sam
Rosenthal's gothic synths. He can be oblique and esoteric, but that's what
gives Gaius its fresh, spontaneous flavor. On "Liquidation" he plays
(and sings) an effectively constricted melody on his electric six-string while
assailing right-wing views on crime, ominous synths joining him in the chorus.
The mourning acoustic guitar and vocals of "Von Stauffenberg" conjure
Holocaust
images further climaxed by an eerie chorus of distant voices. He also offers an
intriguingly stark version of Body Count's
"Cop Killer," with his tense rapping
over a drum machine accompanied only by radio messages and feedback. For his
live dates, Ogl is joined by Rice, guitarist William Tucker (who has written
and recorded with Chris Connelly
and recorded with Ministry), and ex-God
Bullies bassist Eric Polcyn. (Write to Projekt Records at Box 146636, Chicago,
Illinois 60614.)
-- Bryan Reesman
(Thanatos will play at T.T. the Bear's this Wednesday,
December 6.)
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