MOONS AND MUSHROOMS

The style of the album follows the way of the previous Lake of Tears albums since "Headstones"... Maybe the main difference in "Moons and Mushrooms", apart of its odd title, is that this album is has less 70's influences, and it's more focused in authentic gothic rock, in the style of other nordic bands like The Wounded and Sentenced. This is a pity, because the thing that make this band so special, is their mix between 70's psychedelic inflences, 80's souding keyboards, and modern gothic rock... And that it's a bit diminished in "Moons and Mushroom".

But curiously, this album has two of the best songs of the band's career... I'm talking about Last Purple Sky, a strong and riff oriented gothic track, with a wonderful Magnus Sahlgren guitar solo, and Like a Leaf... This ballad is one of the best slow track this band has made. It remembers me to To Blossom Blue from "Forever Autumn", and there we can finally hear the hammond organ that the band used so good in albums like "Black Brick Road". Just for this two wonderful tracks, the album worth the price.

The rest of the songs are not bad... But under the usual band's quality, and they are not really new. Sadly, "Moons and Mushrooms" was the first Lake fo Tears album that has not surprised me with new ideas and sounds... Maybe the depressive and mysterious Planet of the Penguins add some new textures for the band (apart from the Status Quo bonus track cover...), but the rest of the songs don't do the same for me. They are not bad, and they are clearly over most of the actual gothic bands, but far from jewels that we could find in albums like "A Crimson Cosmos", or even the electronic oriented "The Neonai".

Best tracks: Last Purple Sky and Life a Leaf.

Conclusion: the final (and awaited...) incorporation of Magnus Sahlgren to the band, after long years of collaborating in their albums, was a big notice for the Lake of Tears fans... The expectations with "Moons and Mushrooms" were high, helped with a wonderful cover art. But sadly, the songs are under the awesome level of the other Lake of Tears albums, and the 70's and 80's influences are diminished in favour of a more typical gothic rock. Nevertheless, here we can find two of the best Lake of Tears tracks: Last Purple Sky and Like a Leaf, wich make the album plenty worthy of a good listening! Specially recommended for good gothic rock fans.

My rating: ***