2.5/5
A former member of the sugar-spun Sneaker Pimps, Chris Corner borrows from glam rock’s glittery makeup kit and bats his lashes extra hard for IAMX’s latest drugged-out afterparty, Kingdom of Welcome Addiction. Corner’s gone from dozing trip-hop to dreaming futuristic new wave, his trembling, flushed falsetto newly infused with the European decadence of his Berlin hometown. Cutting down on the the electro-pop of prior efforts, ‘Nature of Inviting’ is all sex-drenched, throbbing confusion: ‘Survive the golden dreams you try to escape from/ but you surrender to the power,’ Corner moans into the mic, a hammering beat and tweaked guitar barely saving him from total lounge sleaze.