Former Only One in Hard Rock Shambles
11/04/1998
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Peter Perrett, as anyone who cares knows, was the voice and the mind behind the Only Ones, post punk London's slyest, sharpest, wittiest band. After three albums of chemically-charged brilliance, the chemically-charged nightmare began and Perrett's inimitable whine was silenced for more than a decade. Now, sixteen years on, he's back and it's like the 80s never happened. The clever, sometimes gnomic, lyrics are here, but now they're wedded to a hard rock foundation, adequate in itself if lacking the old John Perry glitz. The last time Perrett surfaced from junkiedom, the world was still pre-digital, and the current record shows that he still conceives of music as an album with two twenty-minute sides. Here, that's a problem, with the CD sequenced in two distinctly unequal halves. The second half (the putative side two of a vinyl record) is a murky drain full of tuneless dirges and its instrumental tedium is unenlivened by the lyrics, which are allusive to the point of obscurity. The first half, though, matches the Only Ones for guts and glory, with the Shame of Being You and Nothing Worth Doing showing off just the sort of sting-in-the-tail lyrics you'd have hoped for. Falling is a punchy slice of the nasty stuff, as if straight out of an Only Ones Peel Session. Deep Freeze and the title track, though, have it all. Deep Freeze has its Rashomon and its "cryogenic shame", primo lyrical conceits both, but Woke Up Sticky trumps even that. The crude wet-dream reference is eyewash. Turn out the lights, listen closely, and you hear a junkie waking up in the morgue as they put the light on him, Perrett's own past coming back to haunt him relentlessly. Maybe it's best not to wake up at all, he says. For a minute, you share the fright, you feel the pathos. Perrett's music grows out of his own personal horror. He may never make another record. For his own sake, it might be better if he doesn't."
Sticky Fingers
07/23/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"It's really pointless to criticize this record. If you're bothering to check it out, you're obviously an ONLY ONES fan. Released in 1997 after an 18 year silence, this one's becoming as rare and reclusive as it's creator. Get it while you can. Out of all the (quote) "comeback" records likely to come your way, this might not only be the most welcome, but the most moving as well. As the first two cuts suggest, our long-lost hero wakes up sticky from the deep freeze. Shaking off the cowebs and the nightmares, he stumbles back into the cold light of day he left behind. All I can say is, Perrett may have lost his former band, but not his edge. Musically speaking it's like the 90's never happened. Perrett picks right up where he left off. True, this isn't an ONLY ONES reunion but what you get in return are an evocative bunch of entirely new songs.DEEP FREEZE, SHAME OF BEING YOU & WOKE UP STICKY are just as dark,infectious, and venemous as anything Perrett laid down back in the day. SIRENS, LAW OF THE JUNGLE,& LAND OF THE FREE may not be as catchy but they fit right in with the eerie, twilight atmosphere Perrett and his terrific backing band(The One) evoke.As a note to the wary---despite the stellar hooks of the ONLY ONES, Perrett has always been an introspective talent. Approach this record from a similar stance and you're certain to be rewarded.In closing, I'm a great admirer of the ONLY ONES and I bought this album 4 years ago. I keep coming back to it and each time I discover something new."
Flashes of brilliance
01/10/1999
(3 out of 5 stars)
"This is a solid effort from Perrett, and will hopefully be followed by more in the future. Unfortunately this album does make one realize how much Only Ones guitarist J. Perry contributed to the magnificence of Perrett's earlier work. The guitar on Woke Up Sticky is a little too decorative, doesn't quite offer the necessary balance to Perrett's languid vocals. Still better than 99% of everything else put out in 1996!!"
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1