The music of Finnish eccentrics Xysma was so impossible to categorize that it slipped through the cracks of discernible '90s alt rock trends and into veritable oblivion, leaving hardly a trace. Perhaps this was intentional, given the confusing credits and artwork -- at once comical and highly disturbing -- gracing their most widely distributed album, 1996's Lotto, which Relapse Records licensed for international distribution from Finland's independent Spinefarm label. Whatever the case, there's no denying (or classifying) the group's peculiar and multi-faceted sound, which sort of focused on dirty power pop gone alt rock, but ultimately touched upon a whole lot more. Opening track "Shortest Route" set the unconventional tone, its driving punk rock impetus and harsh vocal growls eventually giving way to swirling synths and spacey melodies. Meanwhile, grungy numbers such as "We Just Came Inside," "Do'n'Do," and "The Tram" revealed an even deeper schizophrenia, as they somehow clashed heavy metal crunch with jumpy new wave jitters, then topped it off with smoothly haunting vocals reminiscent of the Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl. And that's the closest Lotto came to pursuing a "consistent" direction, as shown by ensuing oddities like "New Gel in Town" (a Therapy?-derived ditty built upon echoed vocals and dark, thrusting riffs), "Aquanaut" (a submarine instrumental of sorts), and "Shoes" (a rather tuneless dirge). Throwing some final curveballs into this already mind-boggling vortex of styles, the closing tandem of "Millionaire" and "Bravado" offered wah-wah driven stoner rock and an eerie permutation of Ted Nugent's "Just What the Doctor Ordered," respectively. As stated earlier, the overall result was probably too bizarre to achieve mainstream success, but fans of inventive, risk-taking heavy rock can count on many surprises from Lotto. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide
