Pig
A Poke In The Eye... With A Sharp Stick

"You'll never believe the mess I'm in; I've got to fight and I've got to win; You'll never believe the mess I'm in; Dislocate me, desecrate me, masturbate me, celebrate me" (From Scumsberg)

Those few times I read song lyrics, I wonder if it was the right choice. Certainly, Raymond Watts is a wise man. A Londoner with a fine appearance, he collaborated with the German KMFDM from the early Eighties and worked as a sound technician with major names in industrial music like the masters Einstürzende Neubauten, Foetus, and later, the Nine Inch Nails.
Only at the end of the decade did he create his own group, the musical project PIG, of which he is the sole member. "A Poke in the Eye... With a Sharp Stick", released in 1988, is the first album in a twenty-year career under this name.

Relatively little known, Watts proves to be an industrial music author slightly below the indispensable names of the genre, with a strong personal identity. Watts manages to carve out a niche of aurea mediocritas between the two derivatives of genres related to industrial: his pieces are catchy and easy to listen to, but never too melodic or with cloying choruses. The clean singing is more mischievous than aggressive and remains consistently unsettling; electronic melodies are accompanied by pounding industrial percussion. The song form is never subverted and cacophony is never resorted to, but cheerfully whistling the present melodies would require a great dose of a sense of humor.
Particular deviations in one of the two directions are found in isolated tracks: many perverted and singable nursery rhymes are often reduced to mere entertainment, which our protagonist does not disdain at all; the more strictly industrial chaotic digressions are instead left at the end of the record. The songs are all of good quality, never confused or too similar to each other; they are easy to listen to and remember without being banal. The most arrogant One for the Neck is counterbalanced by the aggressive and dark Shit for Brains, and the carefree German chant of Hindelinde is accompanied by the seven minutes of industrial obsessions of Peoria.

We are faced with a mockingly and sarcastically entertaining album that cynically mocks the catchy choruses of the most gaudy easy-listening and offers numerous nods to the more traditional and chaotic industrial music, yet as previously mentioned, it is very easy to listen to and appreciate.
It is not something groundbreaking, but it certainly deserves a listen if you even just dabble in industrial. I don't think I'm making too grave of a statement if I say that we are dealing with a sort of Marilyn Manson who doesn't need to resort to theatrical antics and doesn't want to involve a young and unprepared audience, although it is perfectly accessible even to many youthful novices.

Balanced, mocking, and without commercial pretenses, this is probably why very few pay attention to it.