MY HABIT II

I reviewed Coen's 1992 debut album, 'My Habit', all the way back in 1993 and he has now decided that the time is right to produce a sequel. Much has changed since those days of course, one being that Coen obtained his doctorate so changed from The Coenobite to Dr. Coenobite, and on the debut album he was photographed wearing a monk's habit, whereas these days it is much easier to get something digitally. His recording equipment and knowledge of how to get the best out of it has also changed, but what is the same is that Coen still does it all himself (ok, he had a guest guitarist on three of the tracks of the debut, but he has used others very rarely).

Coen has long been a fan of Andy Latimer, and there are some quite definite Camel influences in here, and Coen uses a wide variety of instruments (both real and programmed) to produce a sound which feels like that of a full band and not just one man in his studio. At times this is quite symphonic, and even though I am sure the drums are not real, they are surprisingly good in this context. His main instrument is a guitar, and it is nice to hear so much acoustic/classical being used throughout this, as that combined with oboe and others provides a nice dreamy and atmospheric sound. Coen is not a strong singer though, and I do wish he would bring someone else in to assist in that area. I do find it strange to think that Coen has been doing this for more than 30 years now, and this is his eighteenth album, yet even those who follow the underground will have very little understanding of who he is which is definitely a shame. One day it would be nice if he could bring together a full band to produce an album of his material as I am sure that will gain a great deal of attention. Relaxed and enjoyable with a few symphonic tendencies this is an enjoyable album.