Eric Avery
Help Wanted

Eric Avery was the original bassist of Jane's Addiction, a key element in the Los Angeles gang's epic saga: it's impossible to think of legendary tracks like "Summertime Rolls" or "Three Days" without the magnetic bass lines of our man. After the adventure with Farrell and Navarro ended in 1991, Eric took an artistic path as oblique and stimulating as it was unlucky with the general public, first with Deconstruction then with Polar Bear, always stubbornly refusing to participate in the various (and ephemeral) reunions of his old companions.

2008 marks the solo debut of the Californian musician: "Help Wanted", released several months ago, was entirely played, sung, and produced by him, except for some sporadic participation by people like Flea and Taylor Hawkins.

An adult album in the best sense of the word, that fascinates, seduces, and teases. The twelve tracks unfold through fragments of psychedelic rock, energetic and restless as in Jane's vice tradition (think of "Unexploded" and "Philo Beddoe", or the trip-hop twitch of "Beside the Fire") but, in general, showcase electronic textures that update the specters of Bowie and the New Order. Which is not surprising, given that Avery was the new wave soul in Jane's Addiction, particularly a follower of Peter Hook's style: exemplary tracks like "Belly of an Insect", "Maybe" (in which Shirley Manson of Garbage sings, adding a slightly Ossian touch), and "All Remote and No Control", boasting a palpable and velvety rhythmic tension. But Avery has retained the taste for improvisation and the ability to break the mold: seemingly romantic ballads like "Revolution", "Chicken Bone", or "Porchlight" can immediately transform into malign and soft upheavals.

A worthy conclusion to a surprising work is the surrealist fanfare "Sun's Gone", driven by Barrett-esque keyboards and a seal to what has long been understood: the flame of the greatest American rock band of the last 20 years is kept alive by Eric Avery.