CD: RRCD0001
RELEASED: 1999
LABEL: Robison

01. Love Keeps Dragging Me Down
02. Who Wants to Go to Heaven?
03. Liquor Man
04. Goodbye Girl
05. Uptown
06. Welcome to L.A.
07. Come Naturally
08. Know I Love You
09. When We Were One
10. Switchblade Memories
11. Heroine
12. Dream a Big Dream

Gene Loves Jezebel's latest effort is a solid album that reflects their experience as well as their longtime absence from the music industry. They have evolved into more of an indie-rock band than the pop-Goth outfit they were during the '80s. ay Aston proved beyond a reasonable doubt that he has a knack for begetting memorable melodies. VII is no exception as it contains more hooks than a fisherman's tackle box. One listen to "Liquor Man, " "Uptown" or any number of other songs on this CD and you will have the main melody bouncing inescapably around in your head. Aston also proves himself a solid pop-rock arranger. He often meshes more than one theme simultaneously, and effectively I might add, as in the chorus of "Welcome to L.A., " which is the most interesting and diverse track on VII. It starts with four bars of grunge guitar, segues into eight bars of picked non-distorted electric-guitar chords with flighty female vocal accompaniment, then alternates back and forth between the two, and includes some hilarious commentary on life in Los Angeles. "Come Naturally" follows in a similar pattern, its heavy-handed guitars and rumbling bass drum and floor toms weaving in and out with the more subdued parts of the tune. Other songs on VII, like "Know I Love You, " roll leisurely along with a slightly harder edge. Although this Gene Loves Jezebel reunion release isn't trendy enough to appeal to the masses, it does contain enough gems to make owning VII more than worthwhile for existing fans. Like Echo & the Bunnymen's late-'90s discography, VII shows how a '80s post-punk icon can age gracefully.

Influences / Similar Artists:
The Church, The Mission, The Cure, Sisters Of Mercy