SOUNDESCIPLES Undefined (Peaceville)

"Undefined" is the debut album from Bristol band Soundesciples, formed from the remains of Whores Of Babylon, and was recorded entirely in their own studio, with contributions from the likes of Prodigy live guitarist Gizz Butt (oh dear) and, more promisingly, Beth Gibbons of Portishead.

So, shouldn't "Undefined" sound just a little bit dance-y/trip-hop-y? Er...try mixing that up with a little Front Line Assembly, because Soundesciples seem to be on a fairly serious industrial trip: growly vocals, that peculiar guitar sound that's usually only adopted by bands that think they're dangerous, track titles like "Jesus Biting Nails", "Withdraw From Life", "Chaos In Motion", "Heroin" (no, not that "Heroin"), "Downcide", "Cyberotica", the 'scary' dialogue samples...beginning to see the dark yet?

But, thankfully, there's a little more to Soundisciples than that, be it in the sporadic outbreaks of drum 'n' bass that are all over "Undefined" like a rash, the Bernard Herrmann shower-scene string-section stabs, or even the presence of Beth Gibbons, who moans like a wounded animal on "Never Or Forever". It doesn't make "Undefined" a great album in my view, but it makes it an awful lot more interesting than some of the competition.