CoC : Mentallo & the Fixer - Return to Grimpen Ward : Review

Mentallo & the Fixer - _ Return to Grimpen Ward_
(Metropolis, 2001)
by: Aaron McKay (6 out of 10)

Mood inducing, beat driven, open-minded industrial tracks flaunt themselves unashamed all throughout _Return to Grimpen Ward_. Totaling fourteen tracks, _Return to Grimpen Ward_ is the latest in a -long- history of releases from this Texas duo who also happen to be brothers. Drawing from a predisposition to bands like The Cars and Gary Numan ("Cars", also -- how 'bout that?), Mentallo & the Fixer began to lay down a framework for new wave material only from their perspective. Coming to Metropolis Records with their last album, _Love Is the Law_, _Return to Grimpen Ward_ denotes only the second release for the band on this label after a history of ten previously, by my count. As you can see, Mentallo & the Fixer have a nice, congenial past of utilitarian efforts that give them a perspective few in the industrial genre possess. Very light, pulsating measures drive songs like "Murders Amoung Us" ever-so-slightly into our sub-conscience. Buttress your skepticism upon Mentallo & the Fixer's history. I can assure you, I did. Other than a somewhat lack of stimulated ingenuity -- hence the rating --, I was, for the most part, not disappointed by the harvest brothers Mentallo & the Fixer (Gary and Dwayne Dessing) reaped with _Return to Grimpen Ward_.

(article published 13/5/2001)