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Barnes and Noble
December
Current price: $16.99
Barnes and Noble
December
Current price: $16.99
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's stark and chilling second album is their best, one of the most powerful
releases of the late '80s.
's icicle shots of chiming guitars,
and
' agile rhythmic thrust, and
' boyish (but every bit as forceful) vocals rarely combine for a less-than-riveting listen. With its fluid bass-and-drum punch and enveloping twists of guitars,
's most fitting reference point is
'
. Balancing the aggressive with the reserved just as well as its prime inspiration,
's nine songs float, skip, and roam with a level of immaculately-paced grace that can't be heard on most albums of the era.
' anguished expressions of despair, resentment, and embittered bile hit with the same scythe-like precision of
's best output -- in fact, given the atmospherics and complementary production at play (including the ideal amount of reverb), the songs are even more haunting than
's relatively pure-
leanings.
is one of the first places to go for an example of the album at its best. After
accuses a partner of giving him a nervous breakdown and pleads to get his life back, the song shifts into a dextrous tempo change that recalls the controlled jerkiness of post-punk's upper tier and spins catharsis back into fraught tension. At 36 minutes,
plays briefly but leaves the effect of an epic. Understated but full of ambition, it's a sticky trap. Though it was released on a respected label -- albeit one with limited distribution and exposure -- it's frustrating to think of how revered it would've been if it had instead featured a
catalog number. ~ Andy Kellman