Ever since the Stryper tribute album on Flying Tart, this band has slowly but methodically been building underground credibility. The quality vocals of Laurel Snapper meld beautifully with the looping drums and crunchy guitars. A song like "Purge," with its dance loops and techno beat would ordinarily be dismissed as dance or house music were it not for the savagely industro-metal guitars all over the place. Fans of Circle of Dust and Klank will certainly key into the vibe here, thanks to the distorted six string. The song "Black and Blue" even takes the saxophone, played by Dave Fairall, to new unexplored places with leads that sing like a guitar. Nice and creative!
The words in "Purge" are like knives, stabbing at the beast and his legions of liars: "I've got to purge you from inside me / I've got to purge you out of my mind / I've got to purge this from my body / I've got to heal myself up one more time." The title track is like a prayer for God to remold: "...I need to be made brand new inside / I need to be disfigured..." and the prayer is answered in a subsequent chorus: "I am disfigured / I'm just like Jesus Christ." The song "Ultradramatic" is self-descriptive of the writer, but also pointing the way to Jesus: "My life was colored in beige and grey / until I stopped to meet Jesus." Don't think that all is bright and cheery, though. "Only Roses" touches on the pain of love unrealized, questioning: "...the last one he ever bought / when it's gone what will I..." Lyrically, it's a very ministry-oriented album, while not abandoning honesty and the fallen state of man. Musically, even though the vocals and electronic beats are vibrant, the ugly guitars keep the music from getting too pretty and sweet. Take a swipe between the witty cuteness of Fleming & John and the zaniness of Argyle Park or the new Klank and you're close to where Aleixa lives.