I ill-advisedly put this CD on late at night whilst alone in the Merge office. I expected there would be some kind of Satanic invocation included at the start, I would get scared, turn the album off and miss deadline. There was no such invocation and no resultant fear. In fact, I soon found myself feeling pretty bored and sleepy. Curiously, Marilyn Manson appears to have been listening to indie pop and has borrowed extensively from that genre for his musical inspiration on this album. It’s strange listening to a song and thinking ‘that guitar effect sounds like British India’ and then realizing that the accompanying lyric is “You’re as pretty as a Swastika” or “First you try to fuck it then you try to eat it.”

It’s not a juxtaposition that did anything for me. The mildness and familiarity of the musical direction severely detracts from the usual Manson shock factor. And without the shock factor I don’t even think pre-pubescents are going to want this album. It’s like listening to Eminem without the swear words. What’s the point?