Search - Bark Psychosis :: Game Over

Hex-Ad

07/09/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"10-track album which collects singles, album tracks, live performances, and other previously available material. Not quite as cohesive and consistent as "Hex" but a bit more varied, "Game over" is still a valuable document of the band's genre-busting approach and sound. It opens with the 4-minute "Blue", one of BP's most accessible and danceable songs, mixing mid-tempo disco rhythms with atmospheric synthesizer backing, beautiful melodies and Graham's soft, soaring voice. Very engaging, but "Three girl rhumba", a cover version which had originally appeared on the Wire tribute album "Whore", is even better: Very jazzy and laid back, with down-pitched singing and cool melodies, this sounds like a confluence between Barry White and some underground amateur band. To continue the series of great songs, "I know" paints a vivid and romantic portrait of nighttime urban landscapes, using fragile guitar chords, washes of brilliant keyboard melodies, and wistful vocals. One of the finest ballads I've ever listened to. Unfortunately, it's often downhill from there: The album's second half alternates between Cocteau Twins-like guitar tunes ("Bloodrush"), speed metal collages ("Murder City"), strangely tuneless ambient soundscapes (the 21-minute "Scum") and other undistinguished material which isn't nearly as cleverly put together as "Three girl rhumba" or "Hex". My advice: Well worth picking up for the first three songs and as a collector's item, but if you haven't bought any BP album yet, get "Hex" first."