Human Drama
Fourteen Thousand Three Hundred Eighty Four Days Later
Triple X
I don’t know if “fan” is the right way to describe my feelings about Human Drama. I was introduced to the band about five years ago, when their Pinups album was released. I found the music extremely depressing, gloomy, and, for me, claustrophobic, like something was trying to get out, but couldn’t. I recognized the artistry and effort put into the album, so I learned to appreciate Human Drama as a serious band and later found out they have a huge, dedicated following. The liner notes to this current album explain that Human Drama was really an Australian group called The Models (I know I’ve heard of them, haven’t I?) who changed their name upon relocating to the U.S.
Fourteen Thousand Three Hundred Eighty Four Days Later is a live album, taken from a December 1996 show in Los Angeles. The songs, which include “Death of an Angel,” “A Million Years,” and “I Could Be A Killer,” retain the gloom of songs I’d heard before, but the performance reminded me of a punk Yanni! Really! There are electric violins, synthesizers, dreamy, ethereal guitars, and lots of swishy instruments on every song, even their cover of “Heroin.” Vocally, front man Johnny Indovino sounds like an introspective Bryan Ferry. Those displaced, romance-novel-reading punks who’re looking for romance with the likes of Peter Murphy or Chris Issak, this is up your alley. Triple X Records, P.O. Box 862529, Los Angeles, CA 90086
