Search - Room :: In Evil Hour/Clear!

Night air so cold

Boxodreams | district of columbia | 12/26/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"In the time of the Smiths and Alan Porter, this outfit, with the grandeur of, say, Simple Minds and Prefab Sprout, the studied, cerebral artfulness of Tom Verlaine (who produced half of this), the playbook of the Doors and romantic, rhythmic heart of New Order, did what so many great bands do -- they made a cult and barely a ripple with a brief run of fine music that resonates with its small batch of believers through the ages. Someone has seen fit to reissue it and I, for one, would not hesitate to call "New Dreams for Old" one of the great pop songs of the '80's. Seriously, it all came together with that single song, a swooning, dizzying, dramatic, guitar driven passion play, with vocals that could have been a blueprint for all the Coldplay that followed, that will thrill anyone with a love for the best britpop from that period. Just behind only a few others (Orange Juice, Aztec Camera) The Room climbed to the footsteps of the pantheon. Excellent."