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Title: Sparse, dark, brilliant
Review: The usual lyrical brilliance from mid-period Hammill, with none of the overwriting of his early material or tiredness of later work. Unusually sparse sound due to absence of the ex-VDGG backing band: just PH with a bit of Jackson on sax and Dave Ferguson supplying synthesiser experimentation. Seven short songs (side A of the record) range from a rocking opener (Golden Promises) to elegiac (Slow Time) to a spooky portrait of post-holocaust Jack-the-Rippersville (Fogwalking) to a tooth-grating ambient wash (the Wipe). In best prog tradition, the rest of the album is the 20-minute suite "Flight", which ranges from contemplative to manic and back through its various metaphors on illusion and predestination. A must.
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