IT'S MY LIFE

The culmination of Talk Talk's synthpop period, It's My Life doesn't offer many hints of the intriguing, genre-defining post-rock experiments to come, though they're there if you know where to look (pay particular attention to Henry Lowther's contributions on trumpet, especially on Tomorrow Started, for instance). What it does accomplish, though, is establishing a melancholy mood that isn't interrupted by anything resembling an upbeat track. Even the title track, which was a reasonably successful single, is as much a lament as a celebration in its tone. A charming album, though it's much stronger if you remember to approach it like it is its own thing rather than expecting something along the lines of Laughing Stock.