15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Let It Snow, July 26, 2005
This review is from: After the Snow (Audio CD)
This is probably my favorite early 80's so called "New Wave" album. I wouldn't even put this album in the New Wave or any other category, because I believe it shows a truly original creativity that transcends any genre. This record creates an "atmosphere" that takes the listener on a beautiful trip. I would compare it to a walk with your lover on a wonderful fall day in an English garden; you never tire of the feeling it gives. Personal favorites include "Someone's Calling" and "Face of Wood," but all the songs flow together as if being played in a suite. I think the entire album shows wonderful attention to detail in both lyrics and musicianship. In an era where a band's looks in it's videos were the most important element, Modern English threw that concept out the window and contributed an artisitc statement and musical feel that few bands from that era could capture. Ever notice how a winter snowfall brings beauty to everything it covers? "After the Snow" will add beauty and wonder to your CD collection.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pleasant, underrated '80s New Wave., August 30, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: After the Snow (Audio CD)
After the Snow is truly an expression of Eighties music at its near-best. In addition to the euphoric and well-known "I Melt With You," After the Snow contains 7 other (mostly) great songs, as well as 5 bonus tracks. What we find here is rich '80s New Wave rock, held together by a gentle, distinctly folky mellowness ("Carry Me Down" even features a trilling flute and a gentle acoustic guitar) that's just British enough to be umistakeably a gem of an era gone for nearly 15 years, and to resemble The Cure's less depressing times. This calm sound, parallel with Robbie Grey's clear, deadpan English vocals is decorated sparsely with thin, jerky guitars worthy of early Siouxsie and the Banshees or U2. The two contrasting styles compliment each other quite nicely, and are punctuated occasionally by Stephen Walker's bubbly, robotic keyboards, which sound as if they remain buried in the mix for most of each song and are only allowed to come up for air every once in a while. These keyboards can sound typically and humorously '80s, but overall they do not detract from the soung. The songs, conveniently helped along by their folkiness, mostly center on reflection and often the beauty of nature, but at times can escalate into tense, dark cynicism, as as in the dark reminsicience of "After the Snow". These explosions have more in common with the darker, '80s Goth bands; unexpected in light of the more optimistic tone of this CD, but not totally mysterious, since After the Snow was released on 4AD, the division of Beggar's Banquet, which has been home to such Goth greats as Bauhaus, Love and Rockets, The Birthday Party, Gary Numan and The Cult. While delineating each aspect of this music may make each one sound clashing or egregious they blend together very harmoniously. This album may be too calm or bland for some, but I highly recommend it to fans of New Wave or other '80s styles, and younger fans raised on more recent Alternative Rock may find something relaxing and pleasant here.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
After the Snow still holds up, April 7, 2003
This review is from: After the Snow (Audio CD)
The obvious one-hit wonder label applies to Modern English, but the work on this album runs deeper if you give it a chance. This effort is listenable throughout and shows more complexity and subtlety than the band was ever given credit for. I prefer this collection, which includes "After the Snow" and "Carry Me Down" to the greatest hits or anthology packages available for Modern English. Overall, this albums still holds up.
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