James Iha: Look To The Sky

- I didn't know exactly what to expect when opting – cautiously – to review the latest effort from James Iha. He did always seem like he was the coolest guy in Smashing Pumpkins, even in the Ava Adore video with his 15yr old girl black angel costume he wasn't so bad. Even away from that band he always seemed like a bad ass, generally. So what the hell is this twee garbage!? This album is not only bad, it is terribly painful. It feels as if it was made as a soundtrack to a 2013 remake of the OC. No, wait, that is giving this too much credit, it feels more like the soundtrack to a re-reinvention of Beverly Hills 90210. Iha's lyrics are terrible, the most flagrant wrecker of this record. For example on Till Next Tuesday he sings 'Dont Wake me up till it's next Tuesday / Close the door till it's news-day. GAWD. While Gemini is initially bearable, we are soon subjected to “Ride with me, hold on to me and we'll never come back down / Under the heavens, in your arms, there's something that connects us". It makes you want to cry haha or bash someone. The lyrics take the spotlight off the music, which is...also terrible. The first six tracks sound as if they would be too safe, even for an Ashley Simpson record. Then comes Appetite which at least mixes up the twee formula a bit, introducing a desperate attempt at cabaret. I can picture Iha and band loving it, but not anyone else. The rest of the record follows the same terrible formula. Waves bad vocal delivery has every line ending with “cha-an-ge” or misplaced rhymes on the same word. A String Of Words makes you want to have Iha's intestines strung out over the floor by the final torturous metaphor. The album ends after its 13th painful movement, Dark Star which isn't so bad, because you've reached the end. OH, WAIT! There's a bonus track: an alternative version of the album's worst offence, Gemini. Auuuggh!!! Wow, I mean, really, I never thought I'd say this, but maybe Billy Corgan isn't so bad. Look to the Sky is – pure and simple – bad songwriting that makes Zwan smell like a breath of fresh air. There is nothing worth salvaging here, it is one of the worst records I've heard in a long time and I have heard some steaming piles lately, believe me. Damn. - Brad Armstrong.