Global Citizen - Broken Doll EP

Released as the second single from the album 'Nil By Mouth', and featuring a generous 11 tracks, 'Broken Doll' is an experiment in prowess and diversity, and by that, I refer to my surprise (and delight) at an Eleven track single.

The first track on here is the single edit of 'Broken Doll', which for the uninitiated is a slow track somewhere between EBM, Goth, and Darkwave, and I'll give Rich Mills a heap of credit from the word 'go' - his voice echoes that of Andrew Eldrich, without at anytime sounding like a clone. In addition, the track builds up slowly, and the lush production allows a nice rock-ish climax to the song, which makes it very easy to draw a comparison to Gothic Rock.

I always thought that you could summarise GC by loosely mixing Eldrich and Numan with a touch of sexual groove - there are bands that do their own thing, and then there are Global Citizen, who make it quite clear from their album covers that they do nothing by the book. (Why should they?).

The first remix on the single is by fellow British act 'Flesh Eating Foundation' (known for their punkish approach to Industrial). This remix furthers the hallmarks of gothic rock, focusing a lot more on the slow, pulsing drum work, and the heavy, downtuned, but thoroughly enjoyable Guitar effects.

'Reisztrom' turn the track into more of a club number, increasing both beat and synth work, and the real trick to a good remix is revealed here - making the key instrument (in this case, Rich's distinct, powerful voice) stand out through varying styles, effects, and distortions.

'Mistrust', 'Flip Martian' and 'GCEE' add another three remixes to the release, with the 'GCEE' addition particularly attracting me due to the enhanced piano, which gives Mill's voice something of an agonised, mournful approach.

'Ghost In The Static' give the track a much heavier approach, bordering Industrial Metal, and this upcoming UK based act are growing from strength to strength. The remix is over 7 minutes, but once again the production succeeds in making everything crisp and decipherable.

The remix by 'Echoes of Everything' left a positive mark, but my one criticism of this single is that with 8 remixes of the same song all following each other, it's a little daunting. Maybe the track order could have used a little reshuffle, but I can understand why it's ordered like it is, and it carries the same uniformed discipline that Global Citizen do.

'Lethal Injection' mixes things up, and is an instrumental track that reminds me at times of Aphex Twin, mixed with Gabber and Breakcore. It's very bouncy and uplifting, and a huge contrast, but that works VERY well.

The first of the two closing tracks is a remix of 'Clown' by 'Bedroom Fanatic'. I don't recall the original, but the spoken word lyrics are clever and amusing, it's also completely unexpected, and at times reminds me of Coil's hypnotic work.

Finally, 'Anonymous' remix 'Zero Butterfly'. This is the first true, fast paced EBM track on the single, and it closes things off nicely with it's techno blast's that pulse through it like a car alarm.

As singles go, this compliments the album beautifully. Rich has a charming voice, and the instrumentation is very well performed. The production does nothing wrong, I can hear everything, the bits that are supposed to stand out really do, and this is a cd that won't stay in it's little sleeve for long. Apr 04 2012