INNER REVOLUTION

Adrian Belew's sixth solo studio output is a strange shot at pop. Oddly simple, short, and vocally-led, Inner Revolution does not exactly offer the listener with anything fresh, unique, or stunning. Furthermore, it's mildly predictable, poorly produced, and, in short, lackluster. However, a few well written and layered songs do appear throughout the album, with a bit of guitar lines you'd expect on King Crimson's Discpline album. But that is the sole link to Belew's other project: this is very different from Crimso's music.

As I said, this is chiefly vocally-led. In fact, the strongest aspect of the album is Belew's fantastic lyrics. They're better than the melodies, the riffs, the singing, the guitar work, that atmosphere/mood, et cetera. The main fault of the album, if you ask me, is not the simplicity (which isn't always so bad) or the lack of anything compelling (though that's a close second), but it's the almost dissonant guitar riffs and whatnot, that sound as if Belew was accidentally straying into experimental grounds, but aiming to be pop-sensitive. But, this dissonant type of guitar work doesn't appear often. In contrast to it, there are actually a few prettier sections: Big Blue Sun, for example, where piano plays a large role, and a diverse selection of sounds/instruments is featured.

But when listening to this album in whole, I conclude that if it weren't for Big Blue Sun, and a few of the other good songs that appear, I would have very, very much trouble sitting through this album without going mad. The oddly jagged guitar playing that appears from time to time (or perhaps it's just my ears), the disgusting sound quality and production, and the simple, predictable, unsophisticated music gets under my skin. However, lyrics are powerful and lingering, singing is exceptional, and the good moments are sometimes as good as excellent.