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measuring pandemic statistics or spiritual
trauma. The song also reflects the senti-
ment behind the evergreen “Saved by
Zero,” with a swirling synthesizer that is
recognizably Fixxy. Despite its critical
angle, “Rock Bottom” retains a glimmer of
hope. Anyone reaching that shadowy
nadir should take heart, realizing that
there’s nowhere to go but upward and
into the sunshine.
Lockdown tracks including “Last Night
on the Planet” reveal Curnin’s hidden
strengths as a singer-songwriter, albeit one
with an affinity for the sonic drama of a
band like Pink Floyd. “We were brought
down by our appetites,” Curnin sings,
echoing a common lamentation. In the
song’s sci-fi setting, humanity leaves
dashed dreams as they rocket toward the
unknown. It’s anybody’s guess whether
they’ll make good on a second chance
among the stars. During “Just Like the
Rest of Us,” the one-percenters fall from
their ivory towers due to unspoken
calamity. The erstwhile elite are forced to
scrabble in the dirt as newly minted
refugees among those they once consid-
ered their inferiors and upon whose backs
they built their hoarded fortunes. There’s
little gloating among the lower castes,
however–just a shared sadness. Curnin’s
resolute piano and gravel-etched baritone
are heightened by a thrilling solo from
guitarist Rick DiFonzo, channeling David
Gilmour’s cosmic blues. There’s no mis-
taking Curnin’s voice, but Lockdown rever-
berates with personal identity and a more
intimate tone than the Fixx’s sonic thrills.
32 illinoisentertainer.com may 2020
Still, “Overkill” is propelled by the heart-
beat of a rocker and could have suited any
Fixx set list. From the Cold War sentiment
of “Stand or Fall” to pre-climate crisis
environmental warnings in “Driven Out,”
Curnin has marked his career with the
Fixx by speaking to the times and uncov-
ering lasting truths. Lockdown’s most
telling statement may be found in “Genie’s
Out of the Bottle.” With the gravity of lat-
ter-era David Bowie a la Heathen and
Reality, the song describes a force of
change that cannot be confined. The genie
could represent climate crisis, pathogen,
revolution, or depending upon your per-
spective, even an outbreak of love.
Regardless, it’s on the loose. The present
will not be recaptured in the bottle of the
past. The questing “Something is Calling
Me” veers from Lockdown’s existential
dread toward determination and spirit,
with an urgent need to shake the anxiety
of the age and make the most of time “on
this side of the grave.”
Light bleeds through the cracks in the
album’s dystopian fear, but this is no party
album. Curnin is calling the demons of the
day by name in order to cast them out. In
the process, he offers to help you do the
same with yours. (cycurnin.com)
– Jeff Elbel
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