Pop Music Review : Jim Thirlwell Brings Foetus to the Roxy

Under various monikers revolving around the word Foetus , New York’s Jim Thirlwell was a leader in ‘80s industrial music, and today his influence is dramatically clear in the sounds of dozens of acts, including the mega-selling Nine Inch Nails. But Foetus itself proved too extreme in its time to grab wide-spread attention, and instead became an underground wealth spring of ideas from which later artists have pilfered.

With that boost, though, Foetus has released a new album--not only its first in eight years, but its first ever on a major label. Will its enigmatic sound catch on this time around?

Thursday at the Roxy, Foetus didn’t pack the house, but Thirlwell’s performance (backed by five other band members) showed him not only to be a master noise manipulator, but also a captivating and charismatic performer.

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Dressed in a white dinner jacket, tuxedo shirt, black jeans and sunglasses, the theatrical Thirlwell turned the show into a sort of post-nuclear vaudeville, where he served as the slightly warped and evil host. The singer’s sweeping arm movements, face contortions and prowling presence kept the audience enthralled while he hissed and bellowed over the dense music behind him.

The band juxtaposed air-raid sirens against weepy violin in songs that went from bombastic to beautiful, with only a couple flat numbers in between.

Calling Thirlwell/Foetus an influential force is certainly appropriate, but this show made it clear that it would be a shame for this dynamic artist to be limited to that one-dimensional title.