Metropolis, 2007

I’ve been a Snog fan for years. The early EBM material is flawless, and 1997’s Buy Me… I’ll Change Your Life, ranks among my personal favorite albums of all time. That said, I found The Last Days Of Rome to be disappointing and upsetting.

For those unfamiliar with the band, Snog began as an Industrial/EBM project, but quickly warped and transformed to something less classifiable. Inspired by a number of different musical sources, artist David Thrussell began to fuse seemingly unrelated genres together and, in doing so, created his own kind of Post-Industrial music.

The Last Days of Rome continues this melting-pot tradition. Once again, Thrussell stitches different styles of music to his own sensibility. The title track blends harsh electronics with Disco, and tinges of Hip-Hop. The song even has bizarre sort of break-down where Thrussell’s gravelly voice mutters the kitschy line, “I chewed the chewing gun of hate / I chewed it long / I chewed it late / And I chewed that chewing gun of hate / munch munch / great great.”

Other genres come in on other songs. “Lost At Sea”, for example, shuffles in on an Electroclash drum floor and guitar riff. “City” is a hollow, Depeche Mode influenced track where Thrussell abandons his signature vocal style in favor of a cleaner sound. “Vaguely Melancholy” is an Electropop number. The ballad, “I Do Now Know”, is propelled by synth washes and an acoustic guitar. “One Speck Of Dust” closes the first part of the album (before the bonus features) with a foreboding churchlike hymn.

Lyrically, Thrussell, once again scores big. He sings of his corporate and political observations with a sly tongue. The witty and sarcastic words allow the listener a cynical smile. For example, “It’s all Lies”, a song about how the media uses fear gain ratings for corporate advertisers, goes as follows: ”The guy who’s there on the T.V. screen / he’s not really human / not really a robot / he’s in-between / Vaguely melancholic /as i sleepwalk all day / hum a tune / it gets me through / the hustle and decay.”

Sometimes he’s less subtle. “Unwrap that delightful cluster bomb / Hundreds of splinters / fall all around / They rip and shred that tender brown flesh / Oh it’s just too delicious / and it’s all smiles / in the white house. The overt political message in “Christmas Everyday” isn’t quite as funny (though it does encourage me to better appreciate the ugly sweater that I received as a gift from my unfashionable aunt).

Throughout his career, David Thrussell has taken risks. Fans have grown to, ironically, expect him to deliver the unexpected. The Last Days of Rome certainly hits that mark, but misses on what is most important; the songwriting. Most of the songs on this album, especially when compared to the artist’s other works, are unmemorable. The songs that work, work well. They are worth buying the album for. But the songs that do not work, disappoint. Still, kudos should be given to Thrussell for not resting. He never repeats a sonic formula. While that may hurt for an album or two, it also builds an impressive catalogue overall.