ANOTHER FINE TUNE YOU'VE GOT ME INTO

I must say I much prefer their debut to this one. This one is light and pleasant and it doesn't vary much from that mood and sound. This is surprising considering Hugh Hopper has taken over for Jeff Clyne on bass, and Trevor Tomkins has taken Michael Travis' place behind the drum kit. This is very well played of course, and Gowen is so fluid and nimble on the keyboards. Interesting cover art for this style of music. It's actually a painting titled "The Ghost Of A Flea" by William Blake.Yikes !

"Darker Brighter" features light drums with liquid sounding keys as the bass comes and goes. Lee comes in on guitar with a tasteful melody that is as fluid as Gowen's keyboard play. "Bobberty-Theme From Something Else" has some nice guitar leads early as Gowen continues to impress. The bass of Hopper comes to the fore after a minute. Synths come and go in this one. It calms right down after 2 minutes as light drums and a mellow soundscape take over. The tempo picks up after 6 minutes but it's still light and jazzy. "Waiting" consists of gentle guitar throughout.

"Play Time" is a song I really like alot. I do prefer NATIONAL HEALTH's live version better from the same titled album. It's just so intricate and every note is in it's proper place. Oh yeah, it sounds great as well. "Underwater Song" has an excellent drum intro before keys and guitar arrive after a minute. Synths follow. "Foel'd Again" features bass and drums that beat slowly as keys play uneventfully in the background. "T.N.T.F.X." is the other song on this album that I really like. It opens with a nice guitar melody as drums play random patterns. Lee is the focus throughout and Tomkins is impressive as well.

So there you have it. Not that dynamic really or varied. Just some great playing that is restrained to say the least.