Thighpaulsandra: The Lepore Extrusion
Brainwashed

Given that Thighpaulsandra's (Timothy Lewis) The Lepore Extrusion is the score to Is Evolution Evil?, an interactive video installation by NY artist Daniel McKernan that features transsexual Amanda Lepore, one might expect the music to be wildly provocative. As it turns out, the one-time Spiritualized and Coil member's score is provocative but not in the way one might expect: rather than doing the obvious, like pitching dissonant noise at a painful decibel level, he opts for 45 uninterrupted minutes of droning electronic wooziness that's unsettling, yes, but understatedly so. The last third introduces an unusual percussive component, with the alternating thrums suggestive of dueling insectoid machines, before eventually exiting with a bold flourish. Brainwashed, true to form, has issued the material as part of its Handmade series, meaning that the disc is not only packaged within a letterpress-printed sleeve but, more importantly, comes with extras, in this case a video of the installation featuring narrative by McKernan and an accompanying essay (Is Evolution Evil?).

December 2006