CITY OF FEAR

This is half a great album, but that half is so enjoyable that I play this even more than the much more highly regarded "Black Noise". It seems much darker and more sinister, much in the way of the title track of the Black Noise album, although with nothing of such epic proportions.

The shortness of the tracks means we get a condensed rarefied FM on the best material, especially in the brilliant opener "Krakow" with its ominous synths, infectious beat and desperate emotive singing. This song gives me chills in a good way, like in a film filled with suspense rather than gore. Definitely a 5 star song!

The other highlights often straddle the line between the yet unborn neo genre and space rock, particularly "Silence" and the ultra catchy title cut, where "Truth or Consequences" and the gentle closing ballad "Nothing at All" push the envelope in terms of arrangement, harmonies, production values and melodic textures. The latter track turns the theme of "truth or Consequences" on its ear in a brilliant thematic twist.

Unfortunately, the disc is just too uneven to get an excellent rating, with especially weak songs like the unlistenable "Riding the Thunder" really cheapening the overall effect. Nonetheless, for its time, "City of Fear" is a pretty good proggy album that is worth seeking out.