by John Bush
The first Severed Heads album as part of an actual contract isn't quite a crossover effort; yes, &A Million Angels& and the single &Dead Eyes Opened& are surprisingly melodic synth-pop, though the sampled spoken word material on the latter does the title justice. Much of the album, however, includes avant tape experiments like &A Relic of the Empire,& &Brassiere, in Rome,& and &Alaskan Polar Bear Heater,& merging the voices of an American middle-class everyman with an opera singer.