Crown Prince To The Lizard King's Throne

 FOETUS INC.: Call him Jim Foetus. Call him Wiseblood.  Call him Clint Ruin. Call him Scraping Foetus off the Wheel. Call him the All-Nude Foetus Review. Or call him Mr. James Thirlwell. But when you've finally figured out what's in a goddam name, anyway, immerse yourself in the sweet rosy stink of fierce industrial guitar, huge scrotum-quivering beats and pitbull-growl vocals that made all of this guy's projects during the last decade absolutely necessary additions to a well-rounded sleazy lifestyle.

 A double-record collection of previous 12"-inch classics such as "Bedrock" and "Ramrod" should be hitting the record racks as you read this, and if you're lucky you'll still find a copy of the Wiseblood album, Dirtdish, festering on the shelves. On that record Thirlwell collaborated with Roli Mossman (Swans, The The) to create a blustery, self-parodying, yet blistering persona that borrowed unashamedly from Jim Morrison and Nick Cave to create a streamlined cyberpunk vision of a rock 'n' roll singer, as he vomited up twisted ballads ("Someone Drowned In My Pool") and gut-thumping make-them-die-slowly rockers ("Stumbo," "Fudgepunch").

 Behind the mirrorshades and half-buttoned jeans this Aussie native is a studio near-genius, playing most of the instruments and conjuring a gloriously bigger-than-life In Your Face production sound. A role model for all.

Source: Genesis of late 1989, author unknown.

(Original text including mis-spellings left intact)

04 July 1996