Customer Reviews

Promise Lands

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I really wanted this album to be great. Lowgold have deserved so much more success than they have had over their careers, and when I saw they were bringing out a new album (or rather read it in 'the Fiver') I was a bit excited. All I listened to for the summer of 2002 was Just Backward of the Square, and when Welcome to Winners came out in my first year of Uni, and I saw them live, they ranked among my favourite bands.

But sadly, I'm afraid for me this album doesn't meet the incredibly high standards set by those earlier two. Darren Ford's hypnotic voice, and the full, distinctive and engrossing Lowgold sound are here, but gone are the songs. Where before there were haunting melodies, lyrics that you listened to, sweeping choruses and shamelessly miserable music, there is now... well... not a lot of interest. Despite having had this album in my CD player on and off since its release six weeks or so ago, none of the tracks have caught me enough to make me want to skip to them, or to sing them. Or even to listen to them, really. It's not bad, it's just not very interesting.

My honest opinion, is that Lowgold are a great band who have - in their time - punched far above their weight. If you want to find out why, then buy one of their first two albums, which are superb. But I'd give this a miss. Much as I wanted this album to be the new Sgt Pepper and catapult them to stardom, it won't. But I still believe that the next one might!

Unfortunately in these days of instant mp3 downloads and immediate gratification, albums aren't given time to grow on you but if you allow this one some time to take root you will really reaps rewards in terms of it's longevity. It's one you'll come back to again and again and hear something new with every listen.