SITTING TARGETS

Hammill's second venture into the 80-ties. Contrasting to many of his contemporaries, that was not something he felt awkward with. Quite the contrary. His 3 preceding albums had been wilful, highly experimental and intense works, qualities that were highly appreciated in the beginning of the 80's and that got him a strong following among the new generation of artists.

This album is the first in another strong string of 3 albums that are mostly performed with classic rock band instrumentation. On the ensuing albums this band would be called 'the K Group'. On Sitting Targets, half of that band is in place with (surprise surprise) Guy Evans on drums and David Jackson on sax. The album sits somewhere between the experimental side of the preceding years and a more accessible kind of emotive art rock, similar to what Talking Heads, John Cale and David Bowie were doing around that time.

A few tracks could have been better, My Experience and especially Hesitation could have been a lot better. Also What I Did shouldn't have made it unto the album. The remainder is simply excellent. 3.5 stars for mr H.