Zeromancer

The question that begs to be asked is how much radio-friendly Manson-esque rock does the world really need? With Zeromancer we can add one more band to the list. The songs are drum and guitar heavy and catchy enough, in a rock-electronic crossover way. Sequencing blends with more organic sounds to produce something not too Nine Inch Nails but not too Pearl Jam either. Maybe it’s the vocals — Billy Corgan meets Brian Molko — that make it sound like the next dark electronic act to take the top 40 by storm, but it sounds too generic for my twisted taste. After the fourth song, you feel like you’ve been listening to the same one for 12 minutes. Verse, chorus, verse repeat. Yeah, yeah, what else is new? They blow their load right off the bat with the infectious "Clone Your Lover,” but they run on autopilot until about track eight, "Flagellation.” Things pick up a bit for the last several tunes (with the Ministry-like "Die of a Broken Heart” and the ballad "Houses of Cards” — I wish they didn’t leave such a high point till the very end) so all is not completely lost, just don’t expect to hear anything you haven‘t heard already.