'Masque': the Mission's stab at being 'artistes' (Masque - The Mission)

Member Name: Jay Pendragon

Product:	Masque - The Mission
Date:	19/01/01 (79 review reads)
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Well, Wayney Wayney Wayney wants to be taken seriously as an ARTIST does he then? Its not that easy to shite out a slab of musical brick as finely-crafted yet sterile as this. 'Masque' is indeed a confusing LP in every sense of the word. It heralded Hussey and the boys( sans Simon Hinkler)moving into more "sophisticated" and artsy waters, abandoning the gloomy rock of olden daze in favor of a more complex, layered, dancy and ultimately less-accessible sound which I could give or take(most of the time its give with a capital 'G'). Certain tracks permeate with the sense of mystical wonder and urgency which the Mish does so well, beautifully-honed songs which drag the heart-strings by the balls and lift the spirit to soaring-suns(the opener and single 'Never Again' is a perfect example), others force the listener to ponder what type of crack was in the pipe Wayne was taking hits from while writing it( look no further than a bizzarely countrified 'Who Will Love Me Tomorrow?'); others simply baffle and boggle the mind('She Conjures Me Wings' which sees the blokes trying to out-Beat the Beatles).

It is amiable though. This album does deserve kudos and props for even being attempted; after three albums of trademark gloom/doom, mystical gypsy-quasi-Bolan stuff, to have a record full of funky dance beats, straightforward word-play and stripped-down guitars(a risk, considering the guitars are what the Mish are notorious for)was seen as a big-'NO NO' and ultimately was responsible for the band's downfall in pop musick. Still, there are charming moments, but nothing can make up for the undeniably dorky 'You Make Me Breathe'( even the improved version on 'Resurrection')

The sounds of a rippling, soothing waterfall open the album, then gets off to a promising start with the banging and slightly-urgent majesty of 'Never Again': the integrated dance-beat and alarmingly clean 12-s
tring seem to scream this ain't the Mission you knew and liked better." 'Shades of Green pt.II' failed ever impress me, hip-hop mish is not a pretty sight or sound. 'Trail of Scarlet' is a pleasant little straight-forward pop song, as is the track before it, 'Even You May Shine'- my personal favorite on the LP-which is much cooler and single-worthy(why it wasn't released as one is baffling)than 'Shades'was. The middle of the LP is integrated with arabic strings and pleasant tracks such as 'Spider and the Fly' and eternally-graceful 'Like a Child Again' benefit greatly from this change of pace.

'One Jesus to Another' comes off too much as the Cult's 'Black Angel' re-written(using the traditional-folk A minor to G chord progression), and while its not the best tune these gippys have commited to tape, it kicks the crap out of modern pop radio any day of the week. 'You Make Me Breathe' to this day sounds like a song off some cheesy 80s american romance movie although it too has its moments of astounding beauty.
'uNTIL Theres another Sunrise' is decent, but I find that really bad sax sort of protruding on the overall sound and potential of the track.

All in all, an iffy release, but one well worth checking out if you like the Mission as much as I do.

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