Deviant [Japan]

1	Condescension 3:11
2	Wafer Thin 3:31
3	Keep It Clean 3:49
4	Forget the Facts 3:16
5	Hidden Agenda 4:15
6	Scene This 3:52
7	Dead Battery 3:44
8	As Seen on TV 2:53
9	Everything's Fucked 4:26
10	Chump Change 3:45
11	Stronger 3:38
12	P.S.I. Cological 7:08
13	[CD-Rom Track]

Barnes & Noble

Given the choice of selling a million records or bringing down the capitalist system in its entirety, this British aggregation would likely choose the latter -- and this subversively tuneful battering ram would be an appropriate soundtrack for the collapse. As ever, Pitchshifter's off-kilter sonic fission incorporates elements of thrash, dub, and blindingly fast techno rhythms -- tracks such as "As Seen on TV" (with guest Jello Biafra) and "Stronger" are practically impossible to keep up with. What separates them from the noise-dealing pack, however, are front man J.S. Clayden's declamations, which manage to infuse radical politics with a healthy sense of irony, making such songs as "Forget the Facts" and "Everything's Fucked" all the more potent. Thanks in part to producer Mike Jerden (Alice in Chains, Jane's Addiction), DEVIANT is slightly more rock-oriented than Pitchshifter's earlier work, with more emphasis on Jim Davies' slashing guitar than the mesh of electronics that usually envelops the band's sound. But a glance at the must-read lyric sheet and the provocative booklet that accompanies the album proves that Pitchshifter's intentions remain unshakeable. David Sprague

All Music Guide

If you ask five different alternative rockers how technology should be used, you are likely to get five different opinions. Truth be told, there is no "correct" way. Using nothing but live instruments works for some, while others hold programmed sounds and live instruments in equally high regard. Pitchshifter leader J.S. Clayden has described Deviant as the work of "a live band augmented by sampled elements," and he speaks the truth. On this good-to-excellent CD, live instruments are the foundation of Pitchshifter's heavy, forceful alternative rock (which is influenced by everything from punk and grunge to metal). But technology and samples are part of the icing on Deviant's cake. If the British band had used live instruments exclusively on Deviant, songs like "Wafer Thin," "Dead Battery," and "Forget the Facts" still would have been memorable -- this isn't an album that tries to use technology to mask a lack of genuine emotion or strong songwriting skills. Nonetheless, high-tech elements tend to make the Dave Jerden-produced Deviant all the more interesting. [Also available as a Japanese import.] Alex Henderson