Reviewed by James Lewis

You thought you entered track 32 on your CD player...but in reality, you just entered...the Twilight Zone! Yes, Galactic Cowboys have just released their second album, and this time they're not content just to mess with your mind, they want to mess with the programming on your precious CD player as well. The album contains nine official tracks plus two hidden tracks which you will have to scour the remaining 23 tracks for (hint, use skip and you will miss "Ranch On Mars"). Very clever, I'm sure but it makes the album flippin' difficult to listen to in its entirety. Musically, the album is very similar to the first one, but with enough changes to keep deja vu at bay. The style is, to remind you, Metallica backing the Beatles on vocals, and they still sound exactly like King's X on the tracks where they mellow out. "Ranch On Mars" incidentally is the complete version of the track which was 'reprised' on their debut. Lyrically they've given us a wide mix - "If I Was A Killer" makes its point about abortionists effectively, and the track before it is all about corn circles (the only other track about them I know of is by the Waterboys). "About Mrs Leslie" is the disturbing story of an elderly lady who keeps her husband in a belfry so she can collect on his death - as on the first album, make spiritual connections at your own peril! Tracks which stand out are "Blind" a song about the end of deception, and frustratingly, the hidden tracks - oh well.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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