This came out in 1999 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
When jets crash, the Black Box Recorder often tells us why, offering up cold, clinical assessments of what went wrong and explaining how everyday events ended up horrific tragedies.
The same could be said of the seductively scary sounds of this eponymously tltled U.K. trio featuring ex-members of The Auteurs and Jesus And Mary Chain plus a female vocalist. Although their style recalls a trip-hoppier Cowboy Junkies — dreamy, languid melodies, sparse arrangements, bleak, icy vocals — dive beneath the surface and you’ll find these still waters run plenty deep. And plenty creepy; these 16 disturbing tracks cast an unflinching eye on everything from domestic violence and disturbed children to missing murderers, summing up the world’s horrors with inspirational epigrams like, “Life is unfair — kill yourself or get over it.” Fasten your seatbelts; it’s going to be a bumpy flight.
