Psychotica- Espina
(Zero Hour) 1998
40:39, 9 tracks

Psychotica, who emerged in 1996 from the glitter-encrusted club scene of
Greenwich Village, released their debut album in 96, and have since left
their fans eagerly awaiting new material.  In 1997, they released a 7"
single that was sold at their shows, "We Are the Dead".  It was a small
relief for fans, but not enough.  Psychotica's new album [June 9 street
date], Espina, (Spanish for "thorn"), is available now for order from Zero
Hour records, and is being adored by all of the fans, finally their band has
given them what they want.

The album is a mere 40 minutes long [only 9 tracks] which isn't nearly as
many as their 18-track self-titled debut, but Psychotica also plans to
release an EP sometime soon, so it evens out.  Espina features a new lineup,
with no official drummer, bassist, or backup vocalist.  The band now is just
Pat Briggs singing, Ena Kostabi on guitars and bass, and Enrique Tiru-Velez
playing cello.  Most of the drums were programmed by Doug DeAngelis, who
also produced Espina [he also did some production work on Psychotica's first
album].  The touring band includes another guitarist, plus a bassist and
drummer.

Espina opens with "Ding Dong Dead", released with "MacArthur Park" as the
first single.  "Ding Dong Dead" is a wonderful opening track.  It begins
with a singular beat that has some great effects over it.  When the vocals,
which are the deepest Briggs' voice has ever gotten, come in they seem very
gothic, but the lyrics are very tongue-in-cheek about the gothic folks in
New York City.  The effects that are interlaced sometimes, like the twitchy
loop in the second verse, and the little chirpies in the beginning of the
song, really add to it and give the song a more full effect.  The bridge is
wonderful, and gets stuck in the head, and never quite leaves.  The ensuing
guitar solo is very good, with some great effects on it.  The last verse is
wonderful with Pat's vocals going higher, and the whole song culminates in
the repeat of "Ding ding dong", with the bells dinging and donging in the
background.  Pat's vocals on this song are wonderful, as they are throughout
Espina, and they give the song a boost.

The next song, "Bleeding", is a reworked version of "Now and Always" which
was a demo song that Psychotica recorded in '97, and played at all of their
shows.  "Bleeding", though being decidedly different from "Now and Always",
also has a similar feel in many ways.  The song shouts with the signature
riff of "Now and Always", but has a very dramatic, almost operatic sounding
(if one can imagine that) guitar overdub.  The verse has a better beat than
the original, yet at the same time you can see how the programmed drums are
somewhat more limiting than a live drummer.  There's a strange squeaky-door
loop that goes through the verses which is sort of a haunting little sample.
The chorus really booms at you, it's better in many ways than the "Now and
Always" chorus.  At the end you just want to hug Pat, as he's singing "i'm
bleeding" and the lyric, which wasn't included in the lyric sheet,
"everyone's been a one-night stand".  Sad song but one of Psychotica's best.

"Too Late", the third track, is a remake of the song "Rain", that was on
Psychotica's EP released before their debut album.  Most people don't have
the EP, so they remade the songs for Espina.  The guitar part is more
subdued in the beginning, and the drums are more prevalent [a welcome
improvement over Buz...].  The trademark sliding guitar part is done now
very quietly and sweetly.  Pat's vox are much better recorded, and the
guitar isn't over everything else for most of the song, which is another
welcome change, because the synth and cello dominate.  This is really a
beautiful rendition of the song, which i think is the best song EVER
written, period.  The second chorus is so wonderful, Pat's voice get very
loud, which he does so well.  There's an awkward moment in this song that
happens several times before the "Too Late" part.  The chord changes, and
it's the right chord and everything, but it happens so abruptly, it sounds
out of place.  The solo in "Too Late" is fantastic, because it's a real
guitar solo, something Ena does little of.  It also proves that Ena is more
than a rhythm and atmospheric guitarist... it's got some balls.  The end is
as wonderful as it is in the original, and this song is really a great
rendition of the EP song, unlike one that we will e discussing in the
future.

The fourth track on Espina is also the best, "Blind".  This song is
incredible.  It is one of the best Psychotica songs ever written.  It's got
that tradition of Psychotica grandiose and emotion, but it continues in the
vein of the new Psychotica.  The beginning has a really haunting guitar
part, over a very tribal beat.  The Souxsie influence is very visible here.
The verse vocals are very good... sort of reserved, but every once in a
while, he lets it go and their wonderful.  After the verse, with the build
before the chorus, the effect that it produces is wonderful.  And when the
chorus comes in, i mean this all to seriously, i threw my head back in
ecstasy.  The chorus is so wonderful... the power of Pat's vocals combined
with Ena's booming guitars, it really makes for a wonderful sound.  The last
3:40 of "Blind" is mostly instrumental, but it's appropriate.  It would have
taken away from the song if it had just ended with a "duh-duh" of guitars.
Having the long instrumental added to the whole ambience and atmosphere of
the track.

The next song, "Breakable", was written by the Glampire, and is a beautiful
track.  The guitar part is understated, and Pat's vocals complement it, by
being far away, and sort of atmospheric.  Pat's voice is *very* sensual at
this point in the song.  The whole song sounds sort of gothic, and reminds
me of Ataraxia, the Italian Gothic-Baroque band.  The ending is abrupt, but
works well because on the one hand, you want it to go on forever, but on the
other hand, you know if it did go much longer, it would become very
monotonous.  Overall a good track.

The sixth song, and only instrumental on the album, "Psychopharmacologist",
is based on a 14th century bagpipe piece.  There's a dark bassline
underlying the whole song, and it fits with the drums and the build at the
end.  A song that makes a good intro to the disco-grandiose of "MacArthur
Park".

The only cover song on the album "MacArthur Park", starts off sounding quite
morose, but changes pace throughout.  The build up synth getting to the
chorus is a nice touch.  The guitar works with the vox in a sort of haunting
way.  Pat's range on this song is absolutely incredible, going from his
lowest limits to higher than  most female singers can get.  The dance beats
after the first chorus almost sound out of place at first, but they work so
well with the second verse, that you can see how the work in with the rest
of the song.  The "there'll be another song" part is sad, but quite good,
and works in well with the rest of the song.  The build-up back into the big
beats and chorus is beautiful, some great synth-work there.  The song really
has the classic grandiose of Psychotica that was so prevalent on the debut
album.  Some Bowie influences are very evident in this song, as well.

As i mentioned earlier, there's another rework of an old EP song, the
original being named "Valentine" (a truly wonderful song), and the remake
being named "February 14, 1979" (a truly..... well a song).  This is
definitely a song for the people who HAVE heard the original.  i had to
listen to it twice to believe that they actually did this to "Valentine".
At first, it almost just sounds like a remix of the original.  It still has
some of the credits of the original, but much of it is just brushed over.
The original is a very emotional song, about the perils of Pat's life and
how he's trying to make it through, but this  song is nearly emotion-less.
To quote myself, when i first heard it "What the fuck happened?".  The end
has some cool guitar parts in it, but if this was my first exposure to the
song, i would write it off immediately.  It doesn't convey the emotion, nor
the songwriting skill that the original version had.  Although now that i'm
listening to it for the 4th time, it's not as terrible as i thought it was.
But still... not great.  Sort of the one disappointment of this album.

The last song on Espina, "Soldier of War", is another heart-wrencher, and a
beautiful Psychotica song.  It starts with a melancholy synth-n-cello part.
Pat's vox in the beginning reach unearthly levels, singing a full octave
above his normal.  The chorus is also very beautiful.  All the different
instruments really make this song go.  The whole song has a very understated
feel, until around 4:30, when it just comes out and shows the good ol'
grandiose that makes Psychotica Psychotica.  The song is truly beautiful,
one that will bring people to tears when hearing it.

Many people were disgruntled by the change in Psychotica, heading down to
the gothic side of things.  But in reality, that's not so much of an
influence on this album, at least in the music [which is what's important
anyway, right?].  Espina has a somewhat more electronic feel, but mostly the
change is in that synth is more prevalent, and makes for a wonderful
listening experience.  If we can overlook "February 14, 1979" the album is
an incredible work, possibly the best of this year so far.  All i can say is
that Psychotica has done it again, and has produced a work that is
unparalleled in it's beauty and it's emotion.