This album is a collaboration between Lydia Lunch and guitarist Rowland S Howard. While it is not as sonically diverse and experimental as Lunch's body of work from the 80s, it is a very good collection of songs..Musical influences for this album seem to be drawn from 90s grunge and 70s punk and rock, as well as "goth" rock. Some songs sound like a darker version of Hole (with more intricate songwriting) while songs like "Solar Hex" and "What Is Memory" are reminiscent of early post-punk, specifically recalling the sound of Christian Death's debut album. Also thrown in is an incredibly well-done light bluesy version of Led Zeppelin's "In My Time Of Dying". Instrumentally, the album focuses on the classic bass/drum/guitar/vocal arrangements, with Clint's well-written and played distorted lead guitar taking center stage with Lunch's semi-off-key vocal delivery, which gives the music a more grunge-styled offbeat feel.
These songs are all quite dark, being consistent throughout (in both sound and quality). It sort of bridges the gap between 'goth', 70s rock, and 90s 'grunge'.
The live disc, made up mostly of live versions of songs from the studio CD, is decent.. Not perfectly recorded...some tape hiss and occasional distortion/warping/choppiness of the drums or other instruments..and a bit of a volume drop-off on the last couple tracks... The tracks are played well...similar to the first disc...a bit sloppier at times, of course...with some volume inbalance between Lunch's vocals and the male backing/accompanying vocals (that are often mixed too loud and are often not all that well-performed) that can, at times, be annoying...
Disc one is definitely a 5 star album and is well worth the money for this set. The live album is far from perfect, but it's a nice bonus.
Love Lydia Lunch