With so much going for it, in particular the wide-ranging ensemble cast of collaborators which includes Andy Partridge, Kate Pierson, and Marc Almond, you\u2019d anticipate something really intriguing emerging from the third album of Geoff Downes and Chris Braide\u2019s association.<\/p>\n
Instead, what transpires is a curiously flat affair that doesn\u2019t know whether it wants to follow the progressive pattern suggested by the album cover\u2019s typography and Roger Dean artwork, or the greater pop sensibility of Downes\u2019 membership of The Buggles. Trapped in limbo, cast somewhere adrift of either, it\u2019s largely devoid of energy and purpose.<\/p>\n
The titular track, bombastic though it is, with The B-52\u2019s Pierson underused in its background for most of the time, is still the highlight, having a zip and drive to it, but outstaying its welcome at its hefty 18-minute running time, during which it loses its way.<\/p>\n
Lighthouse, featuring an appearance from Tim Bowness, anchors the mid-point with a notable, if middle of the road, vibrancy and Almond\u2019s appearance on the multi-layered Skin Deep is genuinely lovely, but too many times, polished and accomplished though the delivery might be, the remainder feels oddly bland.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
With so much going for it, in particular the wide-ranging ensemble cast of collaborators which includes Andy Partridge, Kate Pierson, and Marc Almond, you\u2019d anticipate something really intriguing emerging from the third album of Geoff Downes and Chris Braide\u2019s association.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8023,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,16],"tags":[],"issue":[10093],"class_list":["post-193404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album","category-reviews","issue-january-2018"],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n