''The Alternative'' is the second album by English musical artist
IAMX, released on 28 April 2006 in Europe and a year later in the UK and Ireland. It was re-issued on
Metropolis Records
Metropolis Records is a record label founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both t ...
in the US on 6 May 2008. It is the second IAMX album to contain tracks intended for the aborted
Sneaker Pimps
Sneaker Pimps are an English electronic music band, formed in Hartlepool in 1994. They are best known for their debut album, '' Becoming X'' (1996), and its singles " 6 Underground" and "Spin Spin Sugar". The band takes its name from an article ...
album ''SP4''. 2008 US editions differ significantly from the original 2006 version. Many of the songs were significantly re-recorded or remixed, most noticeably "The Negative Sex" and "Spit It Out", as well as "The Alternative", "Nightlife" and "Song of Imaginary Beings". "This Will Make You Love Again" is among a handful of songs to have been edited to include vocals by Janine Gezang. The re-released versions also include a string version of "Spit It Out" as a hidden track. The original album and the reissues also have different covers.
The album features several songs with lyrics by Sneaker Pimps member
Liam Howe and lyrical co-writer for the same band, Ian Pickering, as well as lyrical collaborations with Sue Denim and a musical collaboration with Russian musician Igor Vdovin.
Release and promotion
''The Alternative'' was released on 28 April 2006 in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
and
Benelux
The Benelux Union ( nl, Benelux Unie; french: Union Benelux; lb, Benelux-Unioun), also known as simply Benelux, is a politico- economic union and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighboring states in western Europe ...
countries. It was released in the UK the following year through record label No Carbon, and in the US in 2008 through
Metropolis
A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications.
A big c ...
.
"Nightlife" was used heavily in the promotion for the vampire film ''
We Are the Night''. It is also featured in a sequence in the film which features no dialogue but contains images set to the song.
Reception
''
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...
''
's review was generally favourable, with reviewer Dave Shim describing it as "a stately blend of melancholic reverie and rugged post-
industrial atmospheres".
''
The Skinny''
's Liam Arnold described it as "a raging piece of erotically charged, retro-futurist
electro-pop. And it's bloody brilliant."
Track listing
Charts
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alternative, The (album)
IAMX albums
2006 albums