Lollita

AMG Review of Lollita

Ned Raggett
All Music Guide

Moving to 4AD -- and perhaps unsurprisingly getting Robin Guthrie as a producer, thus increasing the Cocteau Twins comparisons the band had already received -- A.R. Kane ended up building perfectly on the rough-but-compelling sound of the When You're Sad EP. The title track captures both the evocative sense of mood and sometimes cryptic aggression buried in both music and lyrics. Acoustic guitar strums and shimmering but strong guitar-and-drum slams on the chorus mixes with the reverbed notes floating below, while the lyric both celebrates a "winky girl" while also calling her "bitch." "Sado-Masochism Is a Must" almost couldn't be a more perfect title as a result -- emotionally as well as physically, with another blast of abrasive sonics and sudden noise stabs mixed with a weird gentleness -- while "Butterfly Collector" raises the stakes even higher. Nothing to do with the Jam number of the same name (not even close), Rudi's increasingly frazzled, raging performance of a lyric building into a total desire for domination of a lover is accompanied step for step by a pounding, almost industrial beat and a queasy, swimming guitar line. Finally collapsing into total screaming noise, it's unnerving but powerfully beautiful all at once -- A.R. Kane in a nutshell.