Universal/Polygram
1997
Drawn To The Deep End
About This Album
As if miffed by the flood of Smiths comparisons their otherwise brilliant debut Olympia garnered, London's Gene call out the dogs, stiffening and toughening their sound for an even more spectacular and far more singular follow-up, the early favorite for 1997's LP of the year. Without changing their style, Drawn to the Deep End expands on it, determined to stretch their boundaries while digging in harder (hiring the ADAM & THE ANTS' old post-punk producer CHRIS HUGHES pays off big time). Right from the emotional rollercoaster of "New Amusements," which goes through several seamless changes (including a brooding piano solo and a vibrating, closing guitar trill riff), anchored by MARTIN ROSSITER's desolate, yearning, guttural vocal, Gene bang you over the head where once they tickled your toes. The smashing, pre-LP single "Fighting Fit" was the hint. It's set to an insistent soul beat that recalls the verses of Smokey Robinson's "Tears of a Clown," dominated by the clap and clamor of STEVE MASON's dazzlingly deceptive guitar work. Drawn then settles in to more contemplative territory (with the exception of the also harried, overloaded "Voice of Your Father," which recalls the breathless rush of their 1994 b-side "This is Not My Crime"), without ever letting go of the monumental forward thrust and edge.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,5 and 11)

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