I am X (UK)

It's been 10 years down the road since Chris Corner and his friend Liam Howe started Becoming X (1996). And that was with their debut release as the Sneaker Pimps, one of the most influential trip-hop albums to have ever been made. After the first album, combined with the fear of being identified with the fad for trip-hop acts, Kelli Dayton, was asked to leave the group and Corner took over lead vocals. With this, the Sneaker Pimps moved on to music with much more honest, emotional timbre, with subsequent releases, Splinter (1999), the never released SP4 (2003) and Bloodsport (2004) losing the bubblegum feel, gaining emotional intensity.

Eight years down the road, Chris Corner decided it was time for him to start his own side project, and literally became X, going by the moniker of IAMX, releasing his debut Kiss And Swallow, which displayed strong influences from the genres of synthpop and indie, combining Sneaker Pimps' earlier accessibility together with an immensity of emotional rawness of later records. And now, two years after Kiss And Swallow comes The Alternative, which luckily sticks to much of the winning formula used on his debut stunner.

Corner's voice is what will immediately strike the first time listener. It's always been obvious his voice is capable of much versatility, ever since he started taking over singing duties of Sneaker Pimps. But here, it is just that much more apparent. From belting out higher falsetto at times a la Radiohead's Thom Yorke and Muse's Matthew Bellamy to the much more somber, serious vocals, Corner is clearly one to experiment with his voice to a great extent.

Album opener, "President" – which sounds very much like something Muse would come up with – starts off with its eerie piano and high pitched vocals, developing slowly but surely into a perfect soundtrack to a house of horror – especially if that house in question is the circus. "The Alternative" progresses onto a much more 'indie' feel, with stronger guitars and vocals inspired more so by Richard Ashcroft this time around, exuding a sleazier feel with its steady rhythm of dirty guitars. And this sound is carried forward and multiplied by manifold to create "Nightlife", which is one of the strongest tracks on the album. This one will be a sure hit with fans of Sneaker Pimps' "Spin Spin Sugar" Orbital Remix. With its sleazy beats, dirty guitars and pulsating bass, it is the perfect song, painting the vision of a slow late night drive through a street with bright neon signs spilling their glow over women standing on otherwise dark alleyways, whilst shadows of junkies ever so slightly in the background. "The Negative Sex" is the album's "Processed Beats" by Kasabian, blaring like the most established anthem. "Bring Me Back A Dog" might be the weirdest song on the album, with its strange lyrics: 'Give a little love / Bring me back a dog in the next life / Give a little love / Wanna be a dog in the next life'. Hard hitting percussions and psychedelic beats mixed with its very own David Bowie's "The Heart's Filthy Lesson" grittiness make this track a very clear standout. Next track, "S.H.E." is a slow, smooth, song with Corner again changing his voice, this time crooning over the melancholic piano and violin. The Alternative is nicely brought to a close by the ballad of epic proportions, "This Will Make You Love Again". Simple, quiet and emotional, it is one the most perfect ballads ever written.

Although it has always been said that the hardest thing to do is to create massively appealing songs that will be both lyrically genius and melodically catchy, Chris Corner has, with IAMX, seemingly defied the odds to effortlessly hit the jackpot. It is probably too early in the year to say for sure, but there is a very high chance that The Alternative might just take home the award for the best album of 2006.

http://www.iamx.co.uk/