Betrayal!

A bit different from their work together in the Van Pelt, Chris Leo and Toko Yasuda's the Lapse sees the pair operating out of any confines and running free, for better or worse, with all their ideas. Leo's voice stands out as usual, and his unique delivery works well with the cutting guitars on the harder-rocking tracks. Yasuda's contributions are a bit more exploratory, like Kim Gordon's early Sonic Youth songs, and her track "Consent" even features members of hip-hop abstractionists Dalek. Leo still takes the reigns on most of the material and he does a good job of holding things together with his meandering musings on all sorts of bizarre topics. There aren't that many moments that stick with the listener after they end, but a few choruses — especially that of "We Must Move Backwards to Progress" — are some of the most infectious seconds of music Leo has penned. Those who have never been a fan of the man or his music will not have their opinion changed by Betrayal, but those who have stuck it through with Native Nod and the Van Pelt may find that there is a more direct rock influence on these songs. It isn't Chris Leo's best project, but this band shows the potential to be an impressive entity and the record has its share of slowly affecting songs. ~ Peter J. D'Angelo, Rovi