Say what you will about Boy George – in his heyday he certainly wasn't dull. Which is more than can be said about The Martyr Mantras: dull, uninspired, listless, pick your adjective. This sucker is all of them and worse.

Supporting himself with house tracks too directionless even to be considered formulaic, George walks through ten songs, most of which consist of his beating himself up about what a jerk he is, how he's nothing – a weakling undeserving of love. I know that George has been through the proverbial wringer (and to his credit, there are no gut-wrenching testimonials to the joys of sobriety), but he needs to lighten up. Maybe he should switch therapists.

The only songs that have any spark of originality are the subdued (and devoid of programmed boom boom) "I Specialize in Loneliness," which is a bummed-out continuation of the themes expressed throughout the disc, and the Krishna paean "Bow Down Mister," complete with hare ramas and ancient bells a-tinkling.

Normally, I couldn't care less about a musician's religious affiliation, but given the album's goofy title (an update of "Karma Chameleon"?), the Eastern-type graphics all over the cover and the picture of a Hare Krishna – all combined with the lack of any musical substance – the Boy's spirituality seems fair game. More than half of the tracks are remixes – of what, we're not told – and reek of some sort of contractual obligation. George, who uses the pseudonym Angela Dust on most of the material, was obviously looking for a way to back out of this one. George's once-wondrous soul-styled pipes aren't even up to snuff. It is truly amazing that someone who once had as much verve, style, attitude and sheer spunk as Boy George could put out a product as generic, faceless and joyless as this. (RS 601)

AMY LINDEN