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lf_Then_Else is THE GATHERING\'s strangest album title & 1 that\'s never really explained in the music, which is more keyboard & drum loop influenced than previous releases - during the sessions that produced this album, the band were also recording the theme song for THE CYCLIST & working with some session players, who\'ve also contributed violin & trombone to some tracks, so it\'s probably the most experimental mix they\'ve ever done - Rollercoaster & Amity were chosen as the singles, again showing the idiosyncratic nature of THE GATHERING, because the former has never been a standard of their live sets & in many ways this album might have produced other choices from its memorable track line-up - on the previous album it seemed the band had mastered the art of using samples on their space-concept material, but here things return to Mandylion level, with a terrace cheer tagged onto Beautiful War in an annoying way that always make me press the \'skip\' button - Herbal Movement, dedicated to the \'medicinal\' effects of mushrooms, is introduced by Willie Rushton reading from Alice\'s encounter with a giant mushroom & though it\'s amusing for a few listens, it soon feels out of place & interrupts the flow of the music - Pathfinder is another experimantal piece named after a space probe & though evocative enough, is totally out of place on this album & should\'ve been used to conclude How To Measure A Planet?
Rating:  [4 of 5 Stars!] |
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![if_then_else [CD]](images/disco_ite_digipack.jpg "if_then_else [CD]")
