With a churning chorus of hymnal skronk and funk guitar
(reminiscent of John Frusciante’s first stint
with the Red Hot Chili Peppers in the late eighties),
Cesar Pink and the Imperial Orgy definitely lay out
a redemptive blast of morphing rock religion.
Less concerned with debunking or rebuking specific
belief-systems, the band works its way deep into stage
theatrics and aural hallucinations: listening to this
brief slab of spazzy tunes immediately brings to mind
washed-out footage of Kid Creole and the Coconuts embellishing
in their pre-digital ersatz disco bacchanal kitsch.
Gospel Hymns kicks into high gear immediately
with the Cramps-like stuttering guitar-centric thrill
of “The Amazing Tenacity of Job & His Brethren” which
makes as much use of sample snippets as a pounding
baseline as Caesar Pink froths out lines like, “Drug
me with your video screens, S&M scenes and altered
genes.”
“So It Is” swells and sways, relaxed in
its druggy, haggard haze and constant poetic come-ons
of “zebra flesh” and “bluejay whispers.” “Happy
Endings” plunders the Lou Reed handbook but emerges
feeling more akin to John Melloncamp. And while the
narratives of Lisa (a schoolgirl who never wore a prom
dress) and Jimmy (who drove a Nova) feel well beyond
played-out, it’s nigh impossible to suppress
the slinky sensuality of Caesar Pink and his disciples.
Favorite Track: “In Praise of Shadows”
