Emd/Virgin
2002
Forever
About This Album
Forever is a minor comeback for the men and women in Cracker. They might have reached their commercial peak in the early '90s, but Cracker works hard to re-establish their credibility after two decent but spotty albums. As on their previous full-length, 1998's Gentleman's Blues, they concentrate less on the post-punk barnburners of their first three records and settle into a more grounded approach. Johnny Hickman and David Lowery are still the main focus of the band, and their chemistry has developed into a nice combination of '70s power pop and modern roots rock. This works to their favor on several occasions, as Lowery's deadpan delivery and obscure lyrics can be hard to comprehend when buried under a tense, fast-paced song. There are a significant amount of memorable, high-quality tracks from this album, something that does not always hold true for this duo. The opening "Brides of Neptune" is a gorgeous track that features the best Lowery nonsense lyrics since 1994's Kerosene Hat and music that could have been taken right off of a mid-'80s Church album. "Don't Bring Us Down" is a homegrown folk rocker that feels like Elvis Costello recast as a cynical Southerner; elsewhere Hickman takes the microphone for the sweeping psychedelic rave-up "Superfan.
Track List (try tracks 1,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 and 10)

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