CMJ New Music Monthly Review / March 1995 / Issue 19

NITZER EBB: Big Hit

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It takes a certain amount of chutzpah to title an album Big Hit, but Nitzer Ebb might have actually had the right idea here. With the quasi-industrial angst of Nine Inch Nails now a regular attraction on MTV, and a long history of intense live performances behind Nitzer Ebb, the band seems posed for some degree of commercial success, and Big Hit is catchy, sinister and subversive enough to push the English duo in that direction. The album has its share of danceable tracks; especially the single Kick It, with a sweaty and sly sex-groove reminiscent of some of NIN's more lascivious tunes. But parts of the album actually rock; such as the towering riff on In Decline (which does seem a bit muted, though, when played on analog synths), and Floodwater, which is more Zepplinesque march than synth-pop. Even more startlingly, there are moments of genuine subtlety, such as the caressing synths on Living Out Of A Bag and the hunger lurking in the whispery lyrics of Boy. It's a far cry from the band's proto-fascist poundings in the mid-'80s, and a definite improvement over its last effort; 1991's uninspired Ebbhead. It's an "industrial" album that plays through a whole range of emotions and textures instead of just high-tech rage.

--David Jarman