(The title, in context, here.)

Sneaker Pimps alum Chris Corner formally releases his third IAMX LP today, under the unlikely but oddly agreeable title Kingdom of Welcome Addiction. As is the way anymore, the scheduled release was rushed when a soft copy of the LP went public. Corner’s statement says as much about his music as any review possibly could:

We need to take responsibility together to protect art and hold it as sacred. I don’t just mean IAMX. I mean everything. At some point we need to kill our lethargy and believe in things. Everything is so easy. We feel the world owes us everything now. That is insane and unhealthy.

We are spoiled, cynical children that need to grow up.

I hate money. I hate that we are money dependent. It is a disease of society and the controlling tool of the elite, but nevertheless it exists.

We need you to buy the record, not download it. We need you to buy merchandise and come to the shows. Gone are the days of huge record deals and endless support. We are traveling salesmen and gypsies.

[...]

Art helps us deal with being alive. It oils the brittle wheels and gives us a glimpse into a deeper purpose of our tiny existence.

Beautiful. And while I might dispute some of the finer points, who could deny Corner that opening paragraph in full?

The album sounds like it will be his best: flamenco guitar, Fellini, a hymn, a duet with Imogen Heap. The artist asks you to buy it, so maybe you should. Here is a taste: