Reviews of two new releases   The Damage Manual One EP Invisible Records Of related interest: Killing Joke, Ministry, Pigface   When the time comes to form a new musical project, Martin Atkins has hundreds of friends to choose from--primarily, the deep pool out of which he fishes Pigface's rotating members --but the Damage Manual isn't another of his ephemeral side projects. It's an actual band, a Frankenstein's monster that breathes its own electrified fire, with stitched-on limbs salvaged from only the best bodies: Atkins (Pigface, Public Image Ltd., Killing Joke) thumps drums with the left leg; Jah Wobble (PiL, Invaders of the Heart) adds low-end reinforcement with the right; Chris Connelly (Ministry, The Bells) wields the mic; Geordie Walker (Killing Joke) fires six strings of destruction; Lee "Bagman" Fraser (Sheep on Drugs) trips out the brain on synth duty. On One, this Promethean beast immediately kicks the door in with the fuzzy stutter of "Sunset Gun," essentially Led Zep's "When the Levee Breaks" shredded by RevCo, blown-up trashcan beats exploding over slithery post-punk guitars and Connelly's roughed-up croon. "Damage Addict" sounds like Murder Inc. remixed by Cubanate, oscillating syntho crunch undergirded by Atkins' techno-bred punch. The hyperactive rant of "Scissor Quickstep" spins Connelly back to his old industro-rock days for throat-scalding screams. "Blame and Demand" matches Walker's trademark guitar spirographs to Wobble's signature deep-dub spirals. And "Leave the Ground" neatly balances Connelly's Bowie-tinged mellifluousness with Bagman's distortion-torched electronics. Add two dub remixes plus CD-ROM extras of videos, lyrics and bios, and the page-turning Damage Manual is written--for now. Await all new chapters with fevered anticipation. John Graham     Britney Spears Oops! ...I Did It Again! BMG Of related interest: Mandy Moore, the Rolling Stones, Shania Twain   Ladies and gents, at the risk of sounding cliché: Oops, she did it again! Packing tons of hits and an explosive new sound, Britney jams the radio waves and MTV's Total Request Live. Plus, she's become a bestselling author with her book Britney Spears' Heart to Heart! Now, take a step back in the nine-items-or-less line to scope Miss Spears on the covers of Rolling Stone and Cosmo Girl this month! Truly, Britney Spears is on top of pop, proving once again that when it rains it pours... and there's a thunderstorm a-brewin' with the release of Oops! ...I Did It Again! Still, as many of you have heard on the infamous Z-100, she's quick to tell the world that she "can't get no satisfaction." Yes, Britney covers the Rolling Stones classic--but only because she's never met me! But I digress! My personal favorite track, "Stronger," has an 'N Sync feel, but with a definite Brit vibe. Britney also gets a little personal with songs like "What U See (Is What U Get)," "Lucky" and "Dear Diary." Of the three, "Dear Diary" comes up short, literally. Less than three minutes long, this song just starts to get started as soon as it ends. "Lucky," on the other hand, tells the moving story of a girl who gets fame and fortune...but how lucky is she? Really? Shania Twain lends a hand, co-writing "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know." Brit claims this is her favorite song on the album, but I'm gonna have to say she might be kissing a little Shania butt. Still, you can't dis Brit--it's just not right! With or without Shania, she embodies all that is right in pop music and makes all others look like Jar Jar Binks to her Darth Vader. So drop this week's allowance on a CD that rips the music industry a new one! Travis Frost - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Willamette Week | originally published May 10, 2000