STOAT & BOTTLE

Haze is one of those groups that I discovered back in the mid-90's and have just recently completed my studio collection of their work with this album. This album was originally released back in 1987 and rereleased just 2 years on CD for the first time. Musically, it sounds quite a bit like what Twelfth Night were doing at the time, that is mixing ample amounts of the 80's vibe into their brand of neo-prog. If you like neo and you like the 80's sound this might be a good pickup for you, but it is certainly not the most essential recording in their catalogue. Still, the album has some great songs, and Paul McMahon's rich voice fits the music well. In fact, he could have as easily been an 80's new wave singer as he was a prog singer.

The lyrics seem to form a sort of concept, with the protagonist hanging out at his favorite watering hole night after night, although how each song fits into the concept is a little unclear, even to the author of the album's liner notes. Some of the lyrics take a downright dark turn, as in the song Autumn about the untimely death of a lover, or Ophelia which sounds like it's about a friends suicide, or The Vice, about growing old and death and time as the enemy of us all. Some very cheery stuff.

The album starts off on a very upbeat note, despite the darkness that will later come. The title track could easily be a commercial jingle for your local pub. The album ends with the mostly instrumental "Last Orders", which begins with a soft haunting and sad melody and builds on the melody until an emotive guitar solo finishes off the album proper. In between, the album throws in some hard rock - "The Vice" and "Shadows" (the latter of which sounds like it could have come from the Geoff Mann led Twelfth Night), the symphonic "Ophelia", pure 80's - "Tunnel Vision" and "Fading Away", the bluesy "Autumn" and a song that could have easily been an 80's anthem "In the End". All in all there is a lot of variety on this album, although some songs are more successful than others. The best are "Last Orders", "Ophelia", "In the End", "Autumn", and "The Vice". The pure 80's tracks are less successful.

The album sports five bonus tracks, four of which are from the band's 1994 release "World Turtle". The last two tracks, the lyrically-related, Christian-themed "Wooden House" and "Stone House" are the most interesting, the last one being another good 80's styled anthem. This album rates a solid 3 stars. A good album. Not as essential as their previous two efforts, but still, if you dig the 80's and like neo, this is an album you will enjoy (possibly with the cold beverage of your choice).