Ohgr: Welt : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

In the six years since the demise of his doomy industrial outfit Skinny Puppy, Nivek Ogre has kept himself busy collaborating with such kindred spirits as Pigface and KMFDM. His latest project (a joint venture with programmer/producer Mark Walk) resurrects material originally slated for release in 1995, then mothballed in the wake of American Recordings' collapse. Tinges of SP's dark ambiance seep in around the edges of these tracks -- the more anxious interludes ("Minus," "Kettle") serve as reminders of SP's role in Trent Reznor's formative years -- but for the most part they play like an affectionately melancholy homage to the electronic music moguls of the early Eighties. "Cracker" is suave and lively, a gritty recombobulation of Duran Duran's best dance etudes; "Solow" resonates with the ghosts of synth pop practitioners like Yaz and Depeche Mode. Welt isn't exactly warm and fuzzy, but this angst-reduced incarnation of Ogre is decidedly easier to embrace. (SANDY MASUO)