Flowermouth

Things were better honed for on , released a year after the band's debut. Minus (although you'd never guess because he appears on seven of nine tracks), and were aided by , , and (who recorded the excellent set with in the same year). Beginning with the epic which is almost ten minutes on the original and longer on the reissue, things flow as ' soothing vocal gives way to solos by . is another hit that might have been, while is what , the author of , might have sounded like had he chosen music instead of literature -- a very English affair with a meandering piano line (removed on the reissue) and flute solo. is the closest to a throwaway, but restores order, an enthralling piece expanding to nearly eight minutes of lilting pastoral verse, quiet passages of electronics, and an all out storm of squally guitars and ferrocious drumming. one of their best, is a paced yet graceful pop dance tune. has serenity, too, in which may have been better following uses a sample courtesy of of , roaming through contemporary club beats to reach a haunting climax. is the endgame, with the lyrics "You're leaving me behind you, I hate the way things change" sung in earnest. Gentle again, giving way to 's emotionally wrought guitar mimicking the gut wrenching agony of love lost. A masterpiece of writing and playing recommended beyond reason. ~ Kelvin Hayes