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April 1998, Last Sigh Magazine
In the same style as their previous recordings acoustic-distorted guitars, this one doesn't have the same effect as the other CDs. P4 is pretty plain, just as plain as Forever, but again, there's a huge gap between those two. Plainness in Forever meaning beautiful, clean, straightforward-yet-mysterious sounds. Plainness in P4 meaning "you know what?, I'm really not in the mood for writing complicated songs, so let's just take it easy on this one, ok?"
This time the music leans more towards commercial alternative (some of the songs make me think of groups like Veruca Salt - ouch! it hurts even saying it). Is this band trying to go mainstream, then? Mmmhhh... I shouldn't think so. Not after listening to masterpiece works such as La Tragédie dŽOreste et Électre. What's happening then? Well, pretty much what happens with most bands: They're mutating. Mutation is a long, painful process. I see P4 much as a transition album. Transition albums are usually not well received. It's much like the artist going introspective, trying to find its own self; caring little about the world outside (not that this is bad, it's necessary).
But hey! Not everything's bad about this CD. It has some brilliant moments. The ever-present, bird call-sounding, guitar "scratch" on "Angel Bell" is one of those moments. It takes the song beyond its plainness (darn! that word again). Good drum lines in that song too, just as in "Top of the World"; wildly switching from a quick beat with a 4/4 cymbal to a slow beat with a 16/4 hi hat. "Brazil" is quite spicy. Makes me feel like shaking my ass a bit.
Anyway, IŽll be here, sitting all day, eating fat-free ice-cream, waiting for the next Cranes release and looking forward to some surprises -- hopefully good ones.
Reviewed by Rafael Romero
© Last Sigh 1998
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