3 keepers
keeper avg .250
The band's second release begins in memorable enough fashion with a electrified but graceful guitar riff on "Beyond The Pale", though since this is a goth band it's blunted by generous splashes of synth. Those synthesized strings saw and peck to the point of being obtrusive on "Fabienne," though they add a more tasteful counterpoint on "Kingdom Come." Elsewhere, front-man Wayne Hussey gives his most impassioned, overwrought delivery on the "Child's Play"****, which is straightforward and driving enough to be The Replacements, while mid-tempo rockers "Wing And A Prayer" (the devil may care song), "Kingdom Come", and "Heat", add small atmospheric touches to maintain the goth credentials. Undoubtedly the album's centerpiece is the sprawling, nearly 8-minute epic "Tower Of Strengh"****, which creates a rolling, caravan-like atmosphere with the combination of a circular Kashmir-like riff and tribal-flavored percussion; an album produced by John Paul Jones does invite obvious comparisons, though maybe just the timing makes "Tower Of Strengh" sound more like Robert Plant after Zeppelin. Interesting that it immediately follows the similar-sounding but far less substantial "Heaven On Earth". Similarly, the modest English folk ballad "Black Mountain Mist" leads into the very similar introduction of a surprising cover of Aerosmith's "Dream On"; by not trying to re-create the extreme dynamics of the original The Mission makes it their own and captures its essence, though something is lost in the translation. "Hymn (For America)"**** creates a pretty bleak impression of the USA (or at least LA), closing the album with a desperately-rocking barn-burner.
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