Paul, Chris & Mia V 100 Degrees And Rising CD

Kicking off with the frenetic instrumental Mood # 10, which is funky and progressive at the same time, the album powers along into the melodious sound of Unconditional. Here, Ken gives a stellar performance on a song about virtual infidelity which powers into a kick ass rock section.

The pace continues with the frantic, tricksy melody of Everytime I Think of You - a song about mourning the death of a loved so much that nothing can compensate for the loss. A beautiful middle section and guitar solo battle for supremacy with the memorable chorus.

Things calm down a little on the quirky, 2nd instrumental And Pure. Sounding like Mike Oldfield beating up Camel by way of Uriah Heep (for the organ driven and guitar rock-fest of the finale), this is a great number and sure to become a firm favourite.

The next track is the emotional ballad Lost Summer where Ken tells the tale of lovers who grow apart, lead separate lives and look back on their past with regret and longing. This is a beautiful song and is up there with the best of the bands ballads.

Review from The One True Dead Angel:Reviews and poop-sheets for this release reference Coil, Scorn, and Cabaret Voltaire, which is reasonable enough, but this is really closer to a throwback to the first wave of isolationism; in fact, nonthing on here would have been out of place on the landmark AMBIENT 4: ISOLATIONISM compilation assembled by God / Techno-Animal guru Kevin Martin. Dark oceans of rumbling sound flow over distant, ice-cold beats; strange noises and atonal bleats rise from the mist only to recede again. The overall effect of the ten tracks conjures up the image of a lonely soul lost in a cold, dark place, sending out morse code transmissions for help that remain unanswered. Beats rise to the fore on "MLF," "Grindspace," and "Suicide Notes," but the rest of the time remain submerged in the background; disembodied vocal samples appear here and there. Some of the tracks -- "Suicide Notes" is a particularly good example -- are highly hypnotic, repetitive but augmented by just enough extra sonic effluvia to remain engaging; others are more concerned with atmosphere, punctuated by groaning drones and cryptic sound effects. All of it is bleak and foreboding, the way a good dark ambient album should be. Review from OPI8.