SOUVENIRS

The Gathering's trend toward more popular, accessible tunes is strikingly evident on Souvenirs. Anneke seems in control, now, or, at least, the band has realized what an attraction she is and have gone out of their way to showcase her more. And there are definitely some absolutely gorgeous tunes showcasing her extraordinary vocal talents, including the amazing "You Learn About It" (5:10) (10/10), and "Broken Glass" (4:54) (8/10) but, overall, the album shows less and less 'progressive' tendencies and more and more conformity to polished radio-friendly structures and sounds. Still, a mature and very polished band with one of the top five female voices of all-time! Definitely worth a listen.