Nasty International

The second, and perhaps darkest effort from Girls Against Boys side project New Wet Kojak, Nasty International is a free-form fit of mysterious and sensual lounge noise. Girls Against Boys fans will recognize vocalist Scott McCloud and bassist Johnny Temple's quirky delivery of nihilistic material. The comparison stems more from tone than texture, as New Wet Kojak blankets McCloud's smoky art rock dialect in keyboard and sax echoes threaded with elemental jazz rhythms. Songwriting isn't exactly placed at a premium on this 1997 Touch & Go offering. McCloud, Temple, drummer Nick Pellicciotto, saxophonist C. Bennington, and multi-instrumentalist G. Turner favor atmospheric grooves over traditional song structures. The synth and electronic touches on cuts like "Get the Curse" are a nice addition, but Nasty International is essentially a one-note affair. Spooky and repetitive, this mood music for the clinically odd taps its twisted catharsis with impunity, while defining a unique center of seedy art rock gravity. ~ Vincent Jeffries