CD: BREATHCD19
RELEASED: 2003
LABEL: Tenor Vossa

01. After All These Years
02. And So The Dream Goes On
03. Stay Beside You
04. Nobody Knows
05. Rising
06. Behind The Light
07. Closer
08. You Never Left me
09. Closer Still
10. Always With You
11. Fade

Breathless is fronted by Dominic Appleton, well known to fans of 4AD for his vocal work with the cult super group This Mortal Coil, which was often comprised of members of Dead Can Dance, Modern English, the Cocteau Twins, Simon Raymonde, and other noteworthy mid-eighties art-rock artists such as Cindytalk and Colourbox. Dominic's distinctive voice soared at the helm of most of This Mortal Coil's material and famous tracks such as 'The Jeweler' and 'Strength Of Strings' should be springing to your mind if you know your archives and uber Goth history. Obscure even to most fans of dark, moodily romantic U.K. post-punk rock, Breathless deserves credits both for its persistence and for its enveloping music. Founded in the early '80s, the quartet has maintained almost the same lineup through 2003, pursuing its own particular music with both dedication and a willingness to experiment and try new approaches over time. In the past Breathless have been compared to Pink Floyd, and it looks like Behind The Light is by far the most Pink Floyd like thing they've done so far, especially the ambient beginning which takes up about half the song. "And So The Dream Goes On" is very Kraut Rock sounding based on a sampler pattern but using real very regimented sounding drums a bit similar in some ways to the title track of Times And Waving. "Fade" is an ambient instrumental a bit like the two instrumentals on their last single. "Rising" is the most traditional sounding song in terms of structure and tune, uptempo with strummed bass and pounding drums., while "Nobody Knows", "After All These Years" and "Stay Beside You" are the melancholy ballads of the album, although "Stay Beside You" is different to the other two in that it is built around a sample that acts as a drone, onto which everything else is layered to create an almost symphonic effect, whilst "Nobody Knows" and "After All These Years" are sparse and melodic with strong vocals.