Millionaire
Outside The Simian Flock

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).