release date: Mar. 22, 1999
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,46]
producer: Andy Wallace
label: Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK
Track highlights: 1. "Charlie Big Potato" - 2. "On My Hotel T.V." - 3. "We Don’t Need Who You Think You Are" - 5. "The Skank Heads" - 6. "Lately" - 7. "Secretly" - 8. "Good Things Don’t Always Come to You" - 10. "You'll Follow Me Down" - 12. "I’m Not Afraid"
3rd and final studio album by Skunk Anansie, or so it was for more than a decade. The album follows 2½ years after Stoosh (Oct. 1996). It's a 12 track album with a running time just above 50 mins and with the majority of songs credited the entire band.
Soundwise, the band has made a turn to a stronger alt. metal / industrial tone on this one, and it comes out as a new breed by the band. It's no longer a band like Smashing Pumpkins with links to punk rock, I first think of when listening to this. Instead, there's a stronger bond to System of a Down, Rollins Band, Nine Inch Nails, and Rammstein. And as I understand, the band supported the German band on more than one occassion, and especially System of a Down [launshed it debut in '98] and Rammstein appear to have influenced the sound of Skunk Anansie for this one - just listen to "Charlie Big Potato" and "On My Hotel T.V.", "And This Is Nothing That I Thought I Had" (track #11). The alt. metal and industrial rock elements are most apparent as a general aspect but some tracks are less hard in style, and I find more melodic and harmony-driven compositions throughout the album, which I guess, you'd describe as more traditional pop / rock-elements, which for me at least, explain some of the appeal the album garnered. Nationally, Post Orgasmic Chill made it to number #16 on the albums chart list, which was a few steps down compared to the two predecessors but in parts of the European continent, the album performed better - e.g. in Belgium and in Austria it made it to number #6, and in Germany to number #5 on the overall albums list, and then it also sold 3 x Platinum in Italy.
Personally, the album is not a favourite of mine. I do acknowledge that it's perhaps their most melodic album with several fine ballads and some great industrial moments but it's not really coherent, and I find it hard to come to terms with the fact that this is the album by Skunk Anansie that found its way into "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die". Basically, I don't find that the band ever produced a coherent work and one of such quality that it should figure in book that tries to embrace the best of the best. In that case, you could skip this one, I think.
Post Orgasmic Chill isn't a bad album as it contains some fine ballads, some really great industrial hooks, and it also displays Skin's vocal forces. I still prefer Stoosh over this one.
Despite the good reception of the album and a general solid grip on European soil, the band split in 2001 after which Skin initiated a solo career, which produced two solo albums before the band re-united for live concerts in 2010 and they re-grouped and produced their fourth album Wonderlustre in 2011.
[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, NME 4 / 5 stars ]
