As the banshee leading New York sludge therapists Made Out of Babies, creepysexycool nerveball Julie Christmas puts the neurosis in Neurosis. This sorta-metal, sorta-sadcore solo debut plumbs even deeper into a vulnerable, lovelorn center, submerging her in a Lynchian haze of warm keys, brushed snares, and codeine-soaked downers — think Jesus Lizard crashing the American Music Club. But whether Christmas is headbanging or drowning, The Bad Wife is remarkably intimate, with the singer letting her voice crack, squeak, and gasp for air, finding the more revealing notes in between the notes.
