Praise for Devour, Rise, and Take Flight
Bliss/AquamarineBizarre, fearsome and unsettling this album may be, but it is certainly not just noise for noise's sake; it's music with a strong sense of inventiveness.
Stinkweeds
The songs are stripped bare, which brings out her secret weapon: her voice. It's not operatic or soulful, and it's not its range or prowess that attracts us. It is Shikhee's ability to allow us into her tortured world. ... It's the rawest emotions I've ever heard anyone sing since Michael Gira of the Swans.
Industrial Bible
To date, [Devour, Rise, and Take Flight] is probably Android Lust's finest achievement.
High Bias:
I'm not a huge fan of this style of music, but I gotta admit, Shikhee does it better than just about anybody. ... Nine Inch Nails hasn't been this interesting since 1993.
Dark Realms
Those with eclectic tastes for something far outside the mainstream realm of popular music will surely want to give this avant garde artists a listen.
musictap.net.:
Android Lust is the new voice of desperation. Shikee, the voice and heart of Android Lust, is the new fear and loathing.
igloomag.com:
How different this disc was caught me off guard, which any progressive underground disc should... knock you on your ass and you should say wow. [Devour, Rise, and Take Flight] did for me.
liarsociety.com:
As a phrase, "Devour, Rise, and Take Flight" could be an apt description of this point in Android Lust's oeuvre. All of the many possibilities engendered by electronic music have been cannibalized by this project and synthesized into unique and unheard forms. This album is a departure - from just about everything you've ever heard. Brilliant.
thegreatnothing.com:
Overall this album is another landmark in the both Shikee's journey and the world of electronic music. It's completely innovative yet it never totally alienates you.
Praise for The Dividing
Jane Magazine:Intensely passionate lyrics delivered in low whispers and startling, penetrating screaming.
The Boston Phoenix:
The Dividing never misfires; it feels almost - but not quite - slick, its arranging smart, its themes ingenious.
The Village Voice:
Shikhee drapes her angst in velvet. She and the genres she draws from do a kind of tango of desire and venom. At times she sounds like Tori Amos at her most feral; at others like Alanis Morrisette feasting on anger. But mostly Shikhee sounds uniquely abandoned.
earpollution.com:
There is the howl of a wounded animal to Shikhee's music in much the same way that agony powered a great deal of Trent Reznor's work on the first Nine Inch Nails record. Like Pretty Hate Machine, The Dividing is generically lumped into the "industrial" camp, but that fails to capture the range of sonic elements which make up the songs.
Outburn:
Unconventional and adventurous, Android Lust is a rewarding breath of fresh air in a world of copycat industrial cast-offs. 10/10
The Sentimentalist:
Shikhee stands out not only for being a one-woman powerhouse (as singer, writer, producer of Android Lust), but also for her keen, uncompromising ear for fresh electronic sound, allying her with talents such as Trent Reznor.
Side-Line Magazine:
With her new album, Shikhee defies all boundaries of industrial music clichés. By far her most intimate and open work to date, The Dividing presents a blend of industrial, goth, classical, or yet avant-garde rock. It holds a blend of dark and icy tracks with tortured emotional vocals. The album reveals such a sonic wealth and mood diversity that it brings you from euphoria to deep depression in no time.
Pinebluff Commercial:
The mood laden music is sensual and dark, masterfully mixing together elements of industrial, gothic and electropop. Bands like Android Lust are used to living on the dark side. Grooved beats, synthetic melodies, glimmering auras and sirenic vocals are a lethal injection of electrogoth for the discriminating listener.
1340mag.com:
Android Lust has created perhaps the best electronic album to date! The Dividing is a dark ride into the world of Android Lust.
Ink19.com:
If the Furies or the Gorgons were given voice to cry out to the gods of Mount Olympus, they would do it with the vocals possessed by Android Lust. If Persephone ever cried out from Tartarus, Demeter would hear the wrathful and emotionally saturated voice of Shikhee, the voice of Android Lust, howling through the very bowls of the earth, shaking the wheat in the fields of men.
darkcalgary.com:
Best CD of 2002.
starvox.net:
While there are many female vocalists out there, most conform to conventional traits of femininity and place a heavy emphasis on angelic vocals that hope to convey a sense of beauty or tranquility. While many of the cuts on this latest release prove that Shikhee can sing with a subdued and graceful alto, most of the time she delivers a venomous agitated scream that is wrenched straight from her churning stomach. She has more in league with riot grrls and femme fatales like Lydia Lunch, Jarboe, Diamanda Galas, and Kim Gordon than with wispy overrated sirens.
starvox.net:
Rest assured, there will be many imitators though few will be able to connect with the organic and electronic elements the way Android Lust has.
club-metropolis.dk:
The lyrical content on album is superbly written and ranges from the deeply personal and emotional to making seemingly outright political and social commentaries – a spectrum just as wide and kaleidoscopic as the music itself.
Re>generation Magazine:
Although Shikhee could alone produce a wonderful acapella album, just add in some intelligent programming to get an album nothing short of remarkable.