CLUTCHING AT STRAWS

A delightfully depressing finale to Fish's involvement with the band. "Clutching at Straws" is almost as good as its predecessor, with the band playing its most together yet. Rothery's solos stand out above his previous work while Fish is probably at his best as well, gaining full control of his voice's range and using it to sow dark, brooding passages as well as soaring crescendos.

However, there are certainly a few weak points in the albums song-writing. "Just of the Record", "Incommunicado" and "White Russian" do seem out of place when sandwiched between the dark sounds of "Going Under" and "Torch Song". However, the power of "Warm Wet Circles", "Sugar Mice" and "The Last Straw" redeem the minor slips in time to complete the album on a high (depressing) note.

Songwriting: 3 Instrumental Performances: 4 Lyrics/Vocals: 4 Style/Emotion/Replay: 4