Infectious4 Out Of 5 Stars
By far the best of Matt Johnson's The The albums, "Infected" is like an apocalyptic disco, a nightmarish whirl of dance beats, visions of doom and a cynical view of Johnson's Britain in the late 80's. "I'm a man without a soul," he proclaims on "Out Of the Blue," and Johnson portrays everything around him as going straight to Hell. Into Johnson's musical combat zone are rant's that the UK is just "the 51'st state of the USA" and how easily we slip into war mentality ("Angels Of Deception"). It's not easy listening.
The funny thing is, "Infected" is a high polished album. Compared to the synth pop that dominated "Soul Mining" and the rawness of "Mind Bomb," the albums that bookended "Infected," it's Saturday Night Fever in Dante's Inferno. There's plenty of angry lyricism and plenty of cynicism; after all, this was the Thatcher era of England. Everything from Religion to Love is suspect in Johnson's mind, even when he tries to get sweet with his honey on the "Slow Train To Dawn." There's plenty of energy here, but it's covered with dance horns, electric drums, and Johnson's unique voice. There weren't too many of his contemporaries that dared to make a whole concept album about love and death and political diatribes, but with "Infected," The The created an album that still sounds as powerful now as it did upon its release.
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