I'm glad we're all in agreement that George W. Bush was one of our worst Presidents in history (though let's not forget how much of an asshole James Buchanan was). However, to every yin there is a yang (or is it the opposite here?) and there was a silver lining to eight years of political misery: eight years of really angry Industrial laden with Bush vocal samples that you would think must have come from a Charlton Heston movie or something. Some of the music became redundant but a vast majority of it just had so much material to work from including Bush, Bush's cabinet, war, Bin Laden, Sadam Hussein, Al-Qaeda, terrorism, etc. And the great thing was that you could pick and choose so that way you can mock terrorism while also mocking Bush at the same time, and this was one of the clear factors that helped bring one of the greatest Industrial minds out of his funk.The year was 2005 and we hadn't seen any new material from Claus Larsen (A.K.A. Leæther Strip) since 2000's Carry Me, but realistically there hadn't been any significant release of music from the Leæther Strip project since the release of his 8th album, 1997's Self-Inflicted. Now for some bands time off isn't all that unusual, but Larsen started Leæther Strip in 1988, released his first single in 1989 (Japanese Bodies), first album in 1990 (The Pleasure of Penetration) with a second album that year (Science For The Satanic Citizen) and subsequently released an album every year (and a number of EPs and singles) until his hiatus. Ignoring the one single from 2000 and some compilations of earlier work, Larsen basically took off for eight years in contrast to the previous eights years of consistent material.
So a lot of buzz surrounded Larsen in 2005 upon rumblings of new material. An album would come but first was this EP, Suicide Bombers: Who Told You To Die That Way? Situations like that can tend to build a lot of hype and the last time we had heard new Leæther Strip Larsen had been changing around the sound in such a way that created mixed reactions amongst his fan base. However, this EP absolutely delivered if nothing else but for the title track. "Suicide Bombers" became an instant club hit but its also just such a great perspective on the war in Iraq (is that over yet?). In the song you have a great clip of W. repeating the phrase "suicide bombers" and Larsen simultaneously dissecting why these "martyrs" do what they do and chastising them for it. Larsen has a long history of speaking his mind and deconstructing villainous acts, but what I particularly love here is that Larsen is older, perhaps wiser, more introspective, clearly had a lot of time to think about all of this, and while he still rips the suicide bombers apart there are also questions of how they got where they are, why do they do what they do, etc. while I think taking Bush to task and almost pleading with these men and women not to do what they do while showing empathy (though some of it is very condescending and in the end Larsen does wish harm on those that would perpetrate such acts).
Musically the title track is also just a solid track that's very danceable, very catchy, with a great mix Larsen's normal trademark vocal style and perhaps something slightly more aggressive. In addition the EP contains an alternate "12 Inch Version" (remember when every band on Wax Trax! had a 12 inch version of a song?) that isn't all that different but certainly interesting as you get a longer Bush sample where W. states that "suicide bombers are targeting innocent men, women, and children" plus a slightly different, perhaps more consistent club-style beat. This alternate version isn't really better or worse than the original version but just different, which is kind of cool in itself.
Whats interesting about this EP is that it basically is a mini-album because the whole thing is just under 40 minutes (many albums are as short at 48 minutes) and with the exception of the 12 inch version of the title track, all the rest of the songs are originals. One of my favorites besides the title track is "The Shame of a Nation (Part I & II)". Certain elements are very indicative of its place in the mid-2000's but the overall sound is very reminiscent of more classic Industrial/EBM. There's a very steady pace that probably isn't as much of an automatic dance-floor hit now but you would definitely see an old-school crowd being very into this. I also love the line in this song with the supposed female computer vocalist stating "Leæther Strip is back" during Part II of the song (with two minutes left in the song the same voice informs the audience "And now EBM people I would like to welcome you to 'The Shame of a Nation Part II'. Please enter with caution or stay the fuck out".
The rest of the songs on the EP are all good, though I think "This Is Where I Wanna Be" is probably the best of the bunch as it feels like the first three tracks have an "I'm back" feel, while this song is sort of the "Now let's resume where we left off". Larsen has a great ability to retain that old school sound while adding transformative elements that given the feeling of something progressive rather than nostalgic. I'm sure some of this must have been credited to Larsen's extended hiatus, which seems to have reinvigorated the artist and allowed Larsen to introduce Leæther Strip to an entire new audience.
Favorite Tracks: Suicide Bombers, Suicide Bombers (12 Inch Version), The Shame of a Nation (Part I & II), and This Is Where I Wanna Be
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