LAUGHING STOCK

As meritorious as were their ideas and, one may assume, their motives, TALK TALK crested rather timidly with this final release. The improvement rests chiefly in the presence of 2 masterful cuts, "After the Flood" and "New Grass", both profound in melancholy, with arrestingly soulful vocals, organs, and droning guitars. "New Grass" is nothing short of a minimalist triumph engendered by a deceptively lightweight riff. But elsewhere this is again mostly a vortex of void. However, "Ascension Day" is Hollis' most commendable stab a more grungy gritty feel that fell flat on "Spirit of Eden", and "Runeii" is a decent purely ambient piece on which to end. The album title must be ironic, as there is little to laugh with or at here, but unfortunately therein lies the only consistent feature of yet another intriguing project in which the echo is more memorable than its original note.