Ultra Payloaded

Way back when, Perry Farrell was an alt-culture icon, an arty attention-seeker capable of banging out crossover hit tunes that still retained the whiff of dirty underwear. Sadly, ever since Jane shook the monkey off her back, it’s been a toboggan ride downwards. (And no, the 2003 retirement-fund Jane’s Addiction has no place in this or any other discussion.)
Despite Mr. Farrell’s perversely alluring tomcat courting-call, his subsequent incarnations, including Porno For Pyros, have failed to produce anything to get terribly excited about. If you thought that outfit had the worst band name you’ve ever heard, then make way for Satellite Party, a confused electro-supergroup featuring Mr. Farrell, a couple of Chilli Peppers and that awful shouty woman from the Black Eyed Peas. The presence of Joy Division bassist Peter Hook and U.K. beatmakers Hybrid only adds to the gathering electrical storm.
They all sound like they’re having a ball – some bleeps here, a Bee Gees sample there, Nuno Bettencourt (Extreme) soaring towards cock-rock heaven – but to what end? Hmm. There’s some sloganeering about the environment. And the suggestion that Mr. Farrell has ascended to inter-galactic hippie saint status. But this is a classic side-project, commendably surging onwards in the aimless manner of a decapitated chicken.
To round off the general mess, the closing number, ‘Woman In The Window’, features the unmistakable baritone of Jim Morrison, cameoing from beyond the grave courtesy of an Unearthed Lost Recording. Oh well. At least he isn’t selling vacuum cleaners.