The Internet EGO DEATH

Matt Martians' design for Ego Death asserts that the Internet, which the producer co-pilots with singer/songwriter and producer/engineer Sydney Bennett, should be considered a band, not a duo. The names of the additional four -- keyboardist Jameel Bruner, guitarist Steve Lacy, bassist Patrick Paige II, and drummer Christopher Allan Smith -- along with those of numerous associates and guest artists, appear throughout the credits of the Internet's third and best album. While part of the appeal of Purple Naked Ladies and Feel Good was in their off-the-cuff and unassuming qualities, some of the songs verged on sketches and happenstance tangents that merely evoked a chemically enhanced and/or intimate mood. The majority of Ego Death is tighter. Bennett has refined her songwriting without reducing the candid approach that colors her past compositions. Additionally, the tangents are fewer and more substantive. It doesn't pick up where Feel Good left off. Instead of opening with a free-flowing