Lords Of Acid recently released their newest CD, Our Little Secret, to rave reviews. The band is currently on a fall U.S. tour, their first since 1995's Sextasy Ball with Thrill Kill Kult. Nikkie Van Lierop, the band's singer, talked to JAMTV about what fans should expect from the tour, her feelings about the new album and the state of techno in America.

The group, known for their wild, sexy stage antics, hit the road on Oct. 23 in Cincinnati at Bogart's, supported by the riot grrrl intensity of South Florida's Jack Off Jill. The bands are scheduled to play in more than 40 cities through the middle of December, mixing it up between JOJ's pounding rock sound and the Lords avant garde speed techno.

Van Lierop didn't want to reveal too much about what they'd be doing onstage in order to keep an element of surprise during the tour. "I'll tell you this. There'll be lots of black lights and fluorescent colors. I'll be wearing a sexy, freaky silver hot pants suit with silver thigh high boots."

Our Little Secret, the third album from the Belgium-based outfit, is the best work they've ever done, in Van Lierop's opinion. "The music is quite mature and it's a nice balance with techno and a little bit of a rock feeling," she said. "There's a fluent line in there -- whereas Voodoo-U [their last album] was more chaotic, going in all directions." Van Lierop said Secret holds a nice balance between the first two albums, taking their music back to the basics.

Lords of Acid have been inventing their sound for the last 10 years and Van Lierop is excited that techno is finally being noticed in America. "It took long enough for you Americans to catch on! It's no longer just underground."

Further proof of the Lords' and techno's popularity shows up on the charts. Our Little Secret debuted at No. 100 on the Billboard charts, and Los Angeles-based KROQ (106.7 FM) added the single "Rubber Doll" to their playlist. KROQ also invited the Lords to play with the Foo Fighters for the station's annual Halloween party. "I'm not sure how I'm going to dress up, but I definitely won't be a vampire or Frankenstein. That's too obvious," Van Lierop laughed.

One last thing Van Lierop added about the tour without giving anything away: "I just hope we can go out and kick some ass -- including mine."

ARI BENDERSKY