DEFECTOR

Hackett's preceding albums had clearly shown that he didn't have a strong grip on his song writing deficiencies. Also this Defector wobbles between great instrumental tracks and awful pop songs with vocals.

The Steps kicks off strongly with a solemn and dramatic guitar piece. It's a bit over the top orchestral but that suits the track rather well. Also Slogans is a fascinating instrumental, very dark and menacing, a vibe similar to A Tower Struck Down from his solo debut. Leaving is one of the few interesting sung tracks, very soothing and mellow, and just a hunch of sweet melancholy. It is followed by the mandatory classical guitar study, amazing really how Hackett can build this atmosphere with just an acoustic guitar and a bit of eerie reverb.

The contrast with the pedestrian instrumental Jacuzzi or with badly written commercial songs like Time to Get Out and The Show couldn't be bigger. Hackett suffers from a creative standstill, resorting too much to sounds and melodies he had visited before. Hammer In The Sand and The Toast aren't bad new age pieces but can hardly be called a thrilling listening experience.

On the whole, this is slightly better then Please Don't Touch, but not very much. 2.5 stars.