THERE IN THE SHADOWS

I get several flashes of deja vu as I listen to this effort by Cathedral. Some are flattering references, others less so. In particular the vocalist Ted Thompson reminds me of a cross between 3 Steves: Perry, Winwood, and Hogarth. All three are what I would call average vocalists, not ones who detract terribly but not ones that I would buy an album for. So it remains to the songs of this American band to wow me and make my heart flutter.

"There in the Shadows" gets off to a great start, with two engaging and delightfully contrasting tracks, "Holy War", with its potent melodic lines and thought-provoking lyrics, and the largely acoustic, but not folky, "Junk Drawer". "Renfield" is promising about halfway, with some references to Genesis' "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight", until it becomes a plodding hard rock song. After that the album goes into a steep decline, with a few fairly mundane songs with little appeal. The lengthiest piece, "Existential Crisis', is divided into three parts, the first two of which are highly praiseworthy, with the last dissolving into a boorish headbanging fest.

What started well and distinctively enough ends up as just another neo album with occasional and poorly executed hard rock aspirations. In spite of my having given "There in the Shadows" multiple repeat "spins", you won't find me worshiping at this cathedral.