Mechanic and organic worlds collide on The Tea Party's fourth full-length opus, Transmission. Produced and recorded by singer-guitarist Jeff Martin, the Montreal-based trio grafts a new electronic element onto its Middle Eastern-threaded rock. The result intensifies the more aggressive numbers -- like the first single, "Temptation," "Army Ants," "Gyroscope" and "Pulse" -and adds an atmospheric, ethereal touch to songs such as "Aftermath" and "Release." To the extreme is the electronica-heavy industrialized dance of "Gyroscope," and somewhere in the middle lie the gorgeous "Emerald" and foreboding "Transmission," which dip and dive from moving to monstrous. As usual, Martin called on the darker side of life for lyrical inspiration. From the seductive forces in "Temptation" to the pull of the underworld figure in "Psychopomp" and the apology to womenkind in "Release," Martin looks deep within himself and at the world. If you've never liked The Tea Party before, judge ye not until you've cranked this sucker to 11.
Karen Bliss

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