| A Hothouse Flowers album comes with the sort
of gestation period that would have had even
elephants squirming. It's been the best part
of three years since Home (1990) cemented
their reputation, but if you thought that
they've been spending their time finally
reconciling the gap between the celebratory
nature of their live shows and their somewhat
under-cooked recorded work, then Songs From
The Rain might just come as a disappointment.
If not, then it'll probably go down as their
most consistent and satisfying effort to
date, if a little light on the genuinely
great tunes and show-stopping anthems to
which they so obviously aspire. Liam O'Maonlai's
broad-shouldered, misty-eyed humanity and
relentless optimism still make his band sitting
ducks for those of a cynical disposition
but believers should have no trouble at all
in negotiating the white gospel fervour of
One Tongue or Isn't It Amazing, the quietly
impressive Emotional Time or even a patently
sticky ballad like Good For You. If somebody's
got to do the cheerleading for us, these
five Irishmen are still better equipped than
most. |
