Rx -- "Bedside Toxicology" -- Ogre's first independent release on Invisible Records

Track Listing

1. Scarecrow
2. K Y Re:amin
3. Reuptake
4. Downtown
5. Imago
6. Crackhead Waltz
7. The Daze
8. And When
9. Idle Contact
10. Exfoliate
11. For Dusts and Mists

The first track on this disk sums up a lot of what the Ritalin project seems to be out to accomplish. It gave closure to the twisted, writhing body of a once Skinny Puppy and introduced the listener to a whole new sound. The song is a solo acoustic cover of Syd Barrett's "Scarecrow". It's definitely a change in pace, and one that a long-time Puppy fan anxiously awaiting Ogre's full-time return might have had a hard time taking. Admittedly, when I first heard the track I was a little stunned. It is nothing like anyone could have expected. That is why the song is so great though, and it has a lot of meaning aside from the music. The symbolism of the scarecrow is clever, since that's pretty much what the track is meant to do -- warn or scare the listener that is merely in search of a Puppy sequel. It's also the first time Ogre has ever played guitar on an album that I know of , which is a hint at the experimentation to come.

The second track, "K Y Re:amin", picks up more along the lines of where I thought the disc would. Martin Atkins' trademark percussion, although restrained at the start, comes through to accompany Ogre's familiar guttural voice for the chorus. It's reminiscent of their Pigface collaborations, but with enough originality to be a good introduction to the more familiar side of Ritalin. "Reuptake" carries the disk on in this style, and Ogre's vocals move into a more melodic approach that I saw coming after "Scarecrow".

Ogre's lyrics on the disk seem very personal, and you can tell from the laid-back sound of most tracks that none of this record was rushed. The slowed down cover of the old song "Downtown" is an interesting take... it's hard to believe that the original version actually sounded happy.

In the middle of the disk is "Crackhead Waltz". It's a repetitive song that sounds like something droning from out of a circus tent. The vocals are in tune with the melody of the music. They tell the story of a crackhead mother who loses her baby to the repercussions of her addiction. The sparse instrumentation picks up near the end with some Atkins drumming, as the vocals trail out with the repetitive claim "better off dead". Which is funny, since that line can be used to describe what I think of this song. It definitely adds to the eclectic sound of the album as a whole, but I view it as a lull.

Bedside Toxicology closes with "For Dusts and Mists", which seems to be as clever a delve into symbolism as "Scarecrow". Throughout the entire song there is the unmistakable sound of a hungry dog eating it's crunchy food, while its tags make a light metal clang as they brush against the bowl. It's the sound of a puppy gorging itself in the same food that when absent from it's life made it skinny, as though a hidden message saying: "You thought this was good before? That was when the puppy was skinny! Lookout, now it's fed!" Okay, maybe not...