About eight years ago, I noticed that Marc Riley had an BBC TV show called All Shook Up, and the current episode featured long time favourites Wire, along with a couple of other bands unfamiliar to me - Monotony and Jane Weaver.
And very enjoyable it was, Wire giving a fine performance, but I was blown away by the spacy sound of Jane Weaver and have been a fan since.
I've seen her three times in the last few years, and every time she's been fantastic, so buying this album, containing the songs which first turned my head, has been long overdue.
Opening with a short atmospheric piece, The Silver Globe, we're quickly into the fantastic Argent, driving bass line, full of synth effects which enhance, and don't overwhelm Weaver's gloriously trippy voice. Electric Mountain follows in similar vein, the interplay between Weaver's gentle vocals and the solid rock backing sounding great, then it's down a notch for the sleepy Arrows.
Single Don't Take My Soul (performed on Riley's show) comes next, a poppy, catchy song with a bouncy backing, then the more electronic, but still gently lovely Cells. The other single, Mission Desire (also on All Shook Up) has a much more orthodox rock feel, still overlaid with synth, but not overwhelmed.
Just when you're least expecting it, there's a simple guitar song, Stealing Gold, heavily treated with echo, but nice, then If Only We Could Be In Love, possibly the weakest song here, still pleasant, and finally the wonderfully atmospheric Your Time In This World Is Just Temporary, a superb climax to a superb album.
I see why I was so impressed with this collection of songs, seeming to draw on decades of electronic and rock music while still backed up with great songwriting.
5* - yes, it's that good. Give it a listen.
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