IAMX - Kingdom of Welcome Addiction Review

Posted by Marshall Slayton on 05.20.2009

All ye fans of Disney Land, bubble gum, unicorn sex, and black lipstick... enter here.



1. Nature Of Inviting
2. Kingdom Of Welcome Addiction
3. Tear Garden
4. My Secret Friend (Featuring Imogen Heap)
5. An I For An I
6. I Am Terrified
7. Think Of England
8. The Stupid, The Proud
9. You Can Be Happy
10. The Great Shipwreck Of Life
11. Running

Kingdom of Welcome Addiction is the third full-length album from IAMX, the brainchild of Chris Corner from The Sneaker Pimps. Expect more of the same. Only this time, you’ll shake your head while humming lyrics about unicorn sex and awkward fetishes. (Hurrah!)

The album begins strongly with the pulsating thump of “Nature of Inviting.” This is like the best material from The Sneaker Pimps, with Corner’s high-pitched vocals providing the perfect counterpoint to the electronic sounds. It’s futuristic porn music for the masses: pop in an adult film, blast this song, place a gag in your mouth, and tie some saran wrap around your head for the ultimate kinky thrill ride.

The following track, “Kingdom of Welcome Addiction,” is much different from the club-oriented opener. It starts with traditional piano, and finds a way to blend it with synthesizers to create a chilling effect. It builds to a climax which is both thrilling and sophisticated at the same time, and sticks out as one of the album’s strongest tracks.

Corner keeps the sound fresh with “Tear Garden,” which introduces heavy, upbeat drumming to the mix. The drumming is jazzy in nature; one can imagine the same loop playing in a 1930’s swing club with trumpets blasting away. It’s clear by this point that IAMX likes to experiment with different sounds and musical patterns to keep things fresh.

Sadly, by track four, Corner abandons his last trick card. He brings in guest vocalist Imogen Heap to save himself from repetition on “My Secret Friend,” but her vocals are reduced to nothing more than background noise. The collaboration doesn’t seem genuine, and it doesn’t help that the song isn’t worth repeating. The same goes for “An I for an I,” which searches desperately for a chorus, but goes nowhere.

The best song is “I am Terrified,” which also happens to be the longest. Here, the high-pitched vocals make Corner more emotionally vulnerable. When he says, “I am terrified… I think too much... I get emotional… when I drink too much,” he’s genuinely exposing himself to his crowd. It has the most memorable chorus on the album, and with this track, IAMX is firing on all cylinders.

Also worth a mention is “The Stupid, The Proud,” which strips IAMX down to simple acoustic guitars, piano, violins, and sublime vocals. Corner seems focused on making layered music, but he works best when his melodies are simpler, and this track is a prime example.

The final song, “Running,” sticks to minimalism, with heartbeat drumming reminiscent of the Nine Inch Nails single “Closer,” but never as intense. The second half of the album fails to inspire as the first half does, as songs like "Think of England" and "The Great Shipwreck of Life" are nothing more than simple filler.

While not an overwhelming success, Kingdom of Welcome Addiction certainly has its moments.“Nature of Inviting” is erotic and sensual, and “I Am Terrified” has the chops to be an infectious radio single. Like the last two Sneaker Pimps albums, Chris Corner has lots of ideas, but not all of them form cohesive, brilliant songs.

The 411: If you like The Sneaker Pimps, you'll have a good time. But as far as electronica goes, it won't make you shake your ass or break out glow sticks. As moody trip-hop, it doesn't pull you into its bizarre fetishistic world as effectively as it should. A disappointment.

Final Score:  5.5   [ Not So Good ]