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The Millionaire is a Belgian band, led by veteran Tim Vanhamel, that debuted in 2000 with this 'Outside The Simian Flock': one might imagine offbeat melodies serving a vaguely Central European indie-rock. But nothing could be further from the truth; their offering is a rocky, multifaceted, and crazy stoner-rock tinged with wildly out-of-mind electronic incursions.
From the very first track, Body Experience Revue, you can get a pretty clear idea of their musical proposition: a punchy bass that hits the beat, a rhythm guitar that quickly turns into nasty distortions, a whispered voice that explodes whenever possible, a repetitive drum intent on robotizing an old-school blues, and here and there some piercing synthetic stabs. But don't stop listening; all the tracks are so compelling that I have to restrain myself from writing and not start pogoing in the room. Aping Friends sounds like Kyuss produced by Einsturzende Neubauten; Champagne is a mad dash with a Led Zeppelin CD skipping in the player; perhaps Pretty Thug is the sanest track, a syncopated glam-tinged pseudo-grunge (like Mudhoney); but even Come With You imagines NIN embarking on a jam session with Chic in a psychiatric care home...
Yes, because throughout the album there's an air of deviation, frenzy, unease, lasciviousness, and almost malice: even the ballads give you chills. Me Crazy, You Sane is the most banal track of the bunch, but beneath it runs a restlessness that indeed erupts at the end. Blindfold is a beautiful underwater lullaby, quirky and enriched by strings. The creaky pace of She's A Doll is folk closer to the French Air than to the American Conor Oberst.
The album's high point is surely the schizophrenic power-pop entitled Her Gender (Fixed): chaotic, convulsive, epileptic, divided and torn by deconstructive distortions and sudden rhythmic accelerations... In a way, it's Dadaist, just like the artwork of this fascinating and promising debut and like the spirit that pervades this music.
Thus, it's a debut to be proud of, unfortunately passed by without fanfare amidst years of sixties revival and wave. And ultimately, nothing new is invented here either, but there is style and skill capable of managing irreverent originality and respect for a rather burdensome tradition (that of eccentric, hard, and sometimes cunning rock).
Tracklist Lyrics and Samples
01 Body Experience Revue (06:05)
I fear what I'll never be, i fear what I'll never see
I take in what they throw out, I take in what they devour
You gave me this special thing, you gained from this rotten fling
You gave me this special thing, you gained from this rotten fling
Baby can't you see, I love simplicity and I will not stay too long
Can't, will not stay too long, baby can't you see,
Don't need this expertise, I got enough on my own bill
You'll get your wish fullfilled
I wonder if i will find, some chaotic piece of mind
If one ever gets in right, if one ever wins this fight
You think that you're heavensent, but you're just a malcontent
You think that you're heavensent, but you're just a malcontent
I fear that I'll never feel, I fear that this movies real
I'm leaving when they show up, I continue, when they stop
You gave me this special thing, you gained from this rotten fling
You gave me this special thing, you gained from this rotten fling
Woman what is wrong, thought I was everyone,
And I had already seen 2 seas, saw about a million me's
Woman,what is wrong, I know my ways are strong
But I can't settle down for less, had to flee from tis mess
If wonder if you were me, If you were what I could be
How can I be everyone, how can I fuck everyone
You think that you're heavensent, but you're just a malcontent
You think that you're heavensent, but you're just a malcontent
04 Champagne (04:45)
You're my champagne
My only side mondaine
You make me sane
When i'm one step away from really hurting myself
You are my tower
Girl, you can golden shower
All over me
Cause i'm one inch away from destroying myself
I only wish that you've got plans for me baby,
You know i'll be good and you can stick everything in me
The reason i jump from my seat is not you,
I'm just very alert, don't wana to carcrash with you
09 Her Gender (Fixed) (05:04)
Can you believe that, she doesn't feel the need
To overcome this messs and forget about the stress
That she has now, when she thinks about the lies
Which made her whos he is, how many time she tried
To be boyish, use tape to flat her breast, living life in closet
And playing with the cars of her brother, who turned into a plant
Liked the tasted of sugat, but now he's using hemp in his backroom
With everyhting at hand, porno on the telly and every night his hand
Anyway she said: I'm gonna work i out, whatever is the problem, i'm gonna get it out
And now sh's here and now they're here now the butcher is here
And they got plans for her body yeah they're going to get her fixed
So she told me about the outcome of her plan, toiletseat up, convenient for a man
She was happy, didn't change her name, everything was fine but running gave her pain
Anyway she said: I'm gonna work it out, whatever is the problem , i'm gonna get it out
And now sh's here and now they're here and now the butcher is here
All that comfort is just too much and your eyes took all neon they could take
All you breath is exhaust and gas, all you feed of is bones, offal and trash
I just want to know who she was before, before she became a crsytal gazing shrew
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Other reviews
By vv
Vanhamel tells stories and personal situations, but does so in a 'universal' way: he takes you into his world and makes you believe you are him, but you are not him, you are yourself in the same stories and situations.
"OTSF" is a decidedly unique album, which can either be very appealing or absolutely repulsive to those who listen, but - in my view - there is no middle ground.
