SEVEN SECRETS

It always goes just a little wrong for Fruupp. The second album Seven Secrets gets off to a fantastic start with Wise And Wisdom which has slow epic sections, darting folky runs, Gothic vocals and a dash or two of jazz, and I'm also inordinately fond of the delicious piano/strings intro to the stately Elizabeth, but by and large the album flounders under the weight of aimless "precious/twee" compositions.

This mushy/lightweight brand of prog starts early into White Eyes, which is aimless tosh, and continues with the tragically uneven Garden Lady, which is equal parts quality atmospheric prog and forgettable pop. It gets almost unbearable during the intro to Three Spires which is well played parlour music that interests me not a jot. Thankfully the main song is more in the vein of what Barclay James Harvest tend to offer, but sadly, the depths of "twee-dom" are really ploughed on the minute long outro track The Seventh Secret which is little more than a cheesy feel-good poem!

The trend of meandering compositions that lack any true kick seemed to dog Fruupp from this point on, placing them comfortably among the most frustrating prog bands I've ever listened to. With the possible exception of the debut Future Legends, I tend to come to their albums expecting to discover a little more, and leave empty-handed. It's a good thing that Wise As Wisdom and Elizabeth are real career highlights, otherwise I might never remember to return to this record. ... 50% on the MPV scale