Pretend I'm Human
Pretend I'm Human is an album by the American band Orange 9mm, released in 1999.[2][3] It was a commercial disappointment.[4] Pretend I'm Human was rereleased in 2021.[5]
Pretend I'm Human | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1999 | |||
Label | Ng Records[1] | |||
Producer | Neil Perry | |||
Orange 9mm chronology | ||||
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The band supported it by playing the 1999 Warped Tour; they also toured with Machine Head.[6][7]
Production
Recorded in California, Pretend I'm Human was produced by Neil Perry.[8][9] The band abandoned all of its demoed songs once they were in the studio, opting instead to start over.[10] Vocalist Chaka Malik played bass on the album.[11] The lyrics to many of the songs touch on themes of societal power dynamics and class.[12]
Critical reception
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Winnipeg Sun | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Exclaim! wrote that "Touching Skies" "may be the best, if not the only, rap-metal power ballad ever."[15] The Telegram & Gazette deemed the album the band's best yet, praising the "rap-inspired grooves, sharper dynamic shifts and overall better chops."[9] The Arizona Daily Star determined that Malik's "words are racy enough to turn a sailor incarnadine, yet his rap is fantastically caustic poetry."[12]
The New York Post noted that Orange 9mm "is still their hard-core selves on this 10-song collection, which taps hip-hop, industrial and good old-fashioned Stairway-to-Hell metal."[16] The Winnipeg Sun concluded that the "NYC trio manages to weld heavy riffs and hip-hop rhythms without getting them all over each other."[14] The San Diego Union-Tribune stated that "the lurching guitars in the Fugazi-like 'Lifeless', the explosive title track and even the slow build-up in 'Touching Skies', a rather preachy song about self-determination, have a raw, punk edge to them that you won't find in other so-called new metal bands."[17]
AllMusic wrote that "even if Malik has a better lyrical flow than most rap-metal singers, the results tend to sound stiff and forced when there are no funky backing rhythms for him to play off of."[13] In 2021, Decibel called Pretend I'm Human "extraordinarily eclectic," noting that the reissue "brings the guitars to the fore [to] make it a perfect ahead-of-its-time candidate for reevaluation."[18]
Track listing
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "When You Lie" | |
2. | "Lifeless" | |
3. | "Facelift" | |
4. | "Touching Skies" | |
5. | "Pretend I'm Human" | |
6. | "Dragons (You Know I Love You)" | |
7. | "Innocence" | |
8. | "Alien" | |
9. | "Tightrope" | |
10. | "Day One" |
References
- Sciarretto, Amy (Jun 21, 1999). "Must Hear". CMJ New Music Report. 59 (623): 3.
- "Orange 9mm Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
- "Perfect Sound Forever: Orange 9MM". Perfect Sound Forever.
- Blush, Steven (October 4, 2016). "New York Rock: From the Rise of The Velvet Underground to the Fall of CBGB". St. Martin's Publishing Group โ via Google Books.
- "HEAR ORANGE 9MM'S NEW REMASTER OF RARE FINAL ALBUM 'PRETEND I'M HUMAN'". Revolver. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
- Catlin, Roger (11 July 1999). "Also expected in record stores this week". Hartford Courant. p. G10.
- Skierka, Tom (15 Oct 1999). "Rockin' with energy Clones? Wannabes? Maybe, but these bands are more than noise". Weekend. The Spokesman-Review. p. 8.
- "Orange 9MM". Juice. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
- McLennan, Scott (12 Aug 1999). "The sun has yet to set on the Summer of Metal...". Telegram & Gazette. p. C5.
- "Matthew Cross: Orange 9MM's Stickman Is No Pretender". Modern Drummer. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
- Sharpe-Young, Garry (May 21, 2005). "New Wave of American Heavy Metal". Zonda Books Limited โ via Google Books.
- Purdy, Jim (October 1, 1999). "Orange 9mm target fat cats". Arizona Daily Star. p. 32E.
- "Pretend I'm Human - Orange 9mm | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" โ via www.allmusic.com.
- "DISCS". Winnipeg Sun. August 6, 1999. p. F17.
- "Orange 9mm Pretend I'm Human | Exclaim!". exclaim.ca.
- Aquilante, Dan (June 29, 1999). "PRETEND I'M HUMAN; Orange 9MM". News. New York Post.
- Niesel, Jeff (August 26, 1999). "ROCK: Orange 9MM". Entertainment. The San Diego Union-Tribune. p. 9.
- "Pranic Power: Chaka Malik on Orange 9MM reissues, Burn, Ghost Decibels, & the Prophecy and Peace Found In Extreme Art". Decibel. Retrieved 21 May 2022.