Tenth Leper - Returned With Thanks

Thursday 1st June 2000
Tenth Leper - Returned With Thanks
Tenth Leper - Returned With Thanks

STYLE: Rock
RATING 1
OUR PRODUCT CODE: 1094-2555
LABEL: Independent
FORMAT: CD Mini-album
ITEMS: 1
RRP: £4.99

Reviewed by Philip Price

According to the sleevenotes this album is "very much a lo-fi experience." Quite honestly that is an over statement of the quality of this project - no-fi is a better description, both technically and artistically. Technically, this is an appalling recording, with volume rising and falling in all the wrong places and the vocals appearing and disappearing in a most alarming fashion. Artistically, from the opening track "Jangly", right through to the closing track "Blazin", the listener is taken on a tortuous journey of tedious, repetitive songs with little or no direction, and nothing to commend them to the listeners' ears. Strangely, "Jangly" talks about having a "head full of a jangly guitar", an effect totally absent from the song. Most of the other songs are chock full of musical clichés. The drumming is little more than a "tick", "tick", "tick", whilst the singer seems unable to convey anything other than the ability to make you want to turn off. Occasionally, the keyboard playing rescues you for a short time but then the musical drone rises to the fore again and drowns out any hope of consistent improvement. "Psalm" starts and ends repeatedly, an effect that you tire of quickly, but it doesn't stop Tenth Leper exploiting it to the full. Interestingly, it is the electronic track "Heal Me" that held the most hope for me, however even that ends up in a directionless morass after a few minutes. I think Tenth Leper need to go away and assess what they want to be. At the moment they don't seem to have any clear direction musically. When they have discovered that, they need to get someone who knows when to put levels up and down at the right time to commit the project to CD.

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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