TALES FROM TOPOGRAPHIC OCEANS

When I first saw the proposed title of this release, I feared the worst long before I heard it. This album confirms the fears that were raised by the previous recording; an excellent band has lost its way, foundering on excess and lack of critical faculty. Somehow the centre of gravity has been lost, and the multitude of notes are merely there for their own sake, they no longer seem to have a common purpose. And it got a lot worse before it got better. But I for one have no regrets. This was a band that sparkled brighter than most, even if the wings flew too close to the edge of the sun.