Search - The Cranes :: Population Four

Cranes - Population 4 (1997)

C. Planck | USA | 09/19/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Droning guitars, ethereal female vocals. These are the reasons Cranes were marked as the latest shoegazer band. But immediately after their 1991 debut, Wings of Joy, they began to evolve. Even on Wings of Joy the Cranes struck a closer resemblance to the likes of the Cocteau Twins than they did My Bloody Valentine. To set it straight, Cranes were never a shoegazer project. If you needed anymore proof than efforts leading up to 1997's Population 4, the wait is over. It's rather odd that there seems to be more emphasis on the drums than ever, since lead song-writer Jim Shaw (formerly on drums) decided to switch to lead guitar for this album. But there is undoubtedly a newly found confidence. It's not that the album doesn't slightly slip from over-ambitiousness a time or two. But when highlights like the hard-hitting "Breeze" come into play, you know it. Vocalist Alison Shaw's child-like persona is still fully intact, if a bit easier to understand. Most noteably different is the guitars, ranging from soft acoustic pieces ("Tangled Up") to hard rock-tinged tracks ("Breeze") to even slight hints of metal riffage in "Fourteen". The song-writing isn't necessarily at the level of past releases such as 1993's Forever. But it was a step forward stylistically, and most importantly it is another great release from this very consistent and underrated band."