Godhead

by Ned Raggett Lowlife's third album was fraught with difficulties on the road to completion, with a proposed hookup with the Comsat Angels' Stephen Fellows as producer -- an inspired and sympathetic combination -- falling through due to label problems and attendant financing. More important was the departure of founding guitarist Stuart Everest, but in a stroke of luck his replacement was equally at home with the band's general sound -- Hamish Mackintosh, better known as the atmospheric one-man act Fuel. His reflective backing vocals proved a fine contrast to Craig Lorentson's dark dramatics, and on balance Godhead continued the strengths of the group's earlier efforts, powerful, charging and aiming for a big, rich sound. In ways the band was even more on its own -- the late '80s weren't the best time for the post-punk-inspired surge that drove the band from the start -- but they kept on keeping on well. Songs like "Where I Lay, I'll Lie," with its calmer start and less theatrical delivery from Lorentson, and the gently swinging "Drowning Leaves" helped show the band's strengths weren't always concentrated in their full-on work, while "I the Cheated," with its pure piano and keyboard accompaniment for Lorentson's singing, shows a striking new approach for the group overall. Others, such as "Marjory's Dream," keep up the pace and energy without being as enveloping as past work -- there's a lot less reverb for a start -- instead finding a new balance that's often very attractive.