Nikkie Van Lierop changes her look, her style and her name withvirtually every project she's part of. In the brief and inbredBelgian "New Beat" scene she was "Jade4U," singing and sharingcomposition and production duties in Lords of Acid and 101. Thenshe became the darling of European ravers as part of Digital Orgasm,Praga Khan's entourage, and the production company MNO. As"Darling Nikkie" she released a solo album with an ecclectic mix of'40s crooning, electronic dance and bare-faced spiritualintrospection. She either has a short attention span or a love ofvariety...whether all of this band-switching has helped her career,however, is up for debate.www.goddessofdestruction.com
When she retreated briefly to have a child and spend some time being amom, I worried that she'd return with a bloated album of bland,acoustic tributes to the joys of a baby's smile and the fertility ofher womb. Would Nikkie Van Lierop lose her innovative edge? Would she become a sweetness-and-light stereotype? Would her nextincarnation be a thoroughly embarassing "Goddess of Childrearing?"
No indeed! As vulcan-eared superhero "Cornelia RedStone" (!) shehas become "Goddess of Destruction," and this is her harshest projectyet. In the video clip "To the Limit," she, and barely-audiblebackup-singer Lucy Dark, enter a post-apocalyptic arena, postureaggressively at a bunch of beer-bellied bikers, and then beat up somepoor guy who has barbed-wire wrapped around his head. Keepingwith this theme, many of the album's songs have a "deal with it or getthe hell out" sound to them, where RedStone makes "wrongers" pay fortheir multitude of crimes: spousal abuse, greed, deception, and...well,Elvis impersonation. That last one is a particularly heinousoffense in my book, Max...go get 'em.
Leaving the "I am Cornelia RedStone from Planet Xylox" piece of cheese behind, Goddess of Loveis as strong, punchy and nasty an album as its "beyond Thunderdrome"video promises. Van Lierop is a creative programmer who knows howto keep you interested, and her keyboards are as fat and fuzzy as aballsy autumn caterpillar. Her production is virtually flawless,and her voice has lost none of its repetoir; she can pull off the nastygrowls of "Addicted To Sin" and "Goddess of Insanity," as well as theoperatic sweetness of "Soulmate," the repetitive rave-yelling of "Tothe Limit" and the R&B diva vocals on "Behind Smiles" withoutbatting a single spooky eyelash.
There are certainly cringe-worthy moments here: as on her past soloalbum there are times when her voice self-destructs on the highernotes, the lack of irony in the lyrics can make them painfully sincere,sometimes the production gets a bit TOO wacky, and the guestguitarist's licks are perilously close to cheap classic rock. Butthe overall album is made up of solid songwriting, conception,performance and production. I can dance to Goddess of Love AND I can sit quietly and enjoy it.
After heaping all this praise on the album I have to wonder: will VanLierop finally get her due now? Is it basic sexism that's kepther from rising as high as she should have? I'm hopeful thistime...I'm pretty sure that the ecclectisim of her last album kept itfrom really catching on, but Goddess of Love, while still retaining some of that variety, is a bit more comforting in its electronic rawk consistency.
Most importantly, though, it's not about breast-feeding or buying baby togs and that alone is a blessing...thanks, Goddess!
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