LORE

With the previous "Banba" being CLANNAD's top charting studio album in the UK, bolstered by the theme song from "Last of the Mohicans", the band decided to focus on the more meditative "mood music" aspect of their style in "Lore".

The production and harmonies are impeccable as always, and new songs like "A Bridge" and "Trail of Tears" show that the formula has aged well if not actually been upgraded. Unfortunately, over the course of 50 minutes, the net effect is one of diminishing returns. While "From your heart" and "Dealramh Go Deo" might be hailed as pearls of delicacy on an album of more varied material, here they mix unctuously into the impermeable atmosphere and barely elucidate even an embryonic new age consciousness.

The most telling and unfavorable characteristic of "Lore" can be gleaned from the track running lengths, in which by far the most vibrant song, "Alastair Macolla", with its swirling synths and call and response vocals, is relegated to two minutes while the moribund "Trathnona Beag Areir" drags on for six and a half. "Seanchas" is the only other offering that actually shirks the unwavering placidity that apparently pacified band, critics and fans alike.

"Lore" might just be the weakest Clannad album in terms of balance and impact, even though it does sound lovely. It also signaled the completion of their metamorphosis from folk rock elder statesmen to polite new age proponents. Not quite the stuff of legend.