Tomorrow The World – May/June 1998
Style: tomorrow
Line-Up: Jay Englishman (vocals, guitars, bass, all keyboards/programming), Mark Johnson (bass), Justin Burgess (drums)
Contact: Robert Luhtala Management (416) 406-2825
“He was using his art to fill the space where everyone said his heart should be, ” reads the Tomorrow The World bio, outlining the reasons for mastermind Jay Englishman’s gashing wounds on his promo EP, Manic Obsessive, recorded with 21 tracks of analog and 24 tracks of digital at Toronto’s Wellesley Sound. Taking industrial and metal, the Toronto band injects humanness (strings, piano, melody!), much in the same way Faith No More did on The Real Thing. The sweet soul of the superb “Don’t Mean A Thing” goes easier on the venom. It has a more flippant and resolved tone, while on the industrial-based rocker “Take” he spits: “I really hope you’re satisfied/Another piece of me just died/This empty shell is all that’s left, ” leveling the blame at the soul-killer. “I really hope you rot in hell.” Then, on the industrial ambience of “Numb”, in a warped whispery tone he sings, “I don’t want to breathe anymore” and on the heavy metallic rock of “Flowers For Ophelia (A Suite For The Sweet)” with its menacing vocal, he realizes “It took 24 years to get this stupid”. While the sentiments might seem ominous, pitiful and vengeful, these are four truly remarkably moving songs from a band/artist destined for major things.