THE SEVENTH HOUSE

IQ's incredible run of top-class albums which began with Ever continues on The Seventh House. Less ambitious in structure than Subterranea, it sees the band apply the musical lessons learned during that grand exercise to a compact single album on the scale of Ever, and the end result is some of their most beautiful and haunting music.

Peter Nicholls gives a vocal performance that outshines any of his previous efforts, showing a greater and more subtle command of emotional range than ever before - his performance on the title track never fails to make my hair stand on end, just as the bittersweet closing track Guiding Light often brings a tear to my eye. The band themselves offer a typically high-class performance in their own right, but I think it's Peter who gets the Best In Show award this time around.