Thirteen Senses - Crystal Sounds

This self-produced follow up to Thirteen Senses’ disappointing second album ‘Contact’ ought to have been a chance for the Cornish band to regroup and reboot their musical artistry. Instead, its an often frustrating mix ideas let down by their inability to back those sentiments in the recording studio.

It starts strongly enough with ‘Crystal Sounds’, a track that swaggers in its own confidence. Its bold guitar lines and rousing chorus are the perfect way to wipe the musical slate clean again. Yet all too soon, we’re reminded as to why we fell out of love with them in the first place. Lead Will South’s vocals are a letdown, never stretching beyond anything that may be described as meek, whilst time and time again the band insist on playing it safe, filling the majority of the album with timid pieces of music that do nothing to push the band on from what they’ve done before.

Whereas ‘The Invitation’, Thirteen Senses’ (major label) debut, was never going to win awards for originality, sweeping ballads like ‘Into The Fire’ and ‘Do No Wrong’ ensured that at the very least, they exhibited the fact that they were capable of penning a good tune.

Here, we are left with a turgid middle section of nondescript lyrics, uninspiring melodies and a band who sound like they have all but given up. Tracks like ‘Home’, ‘Suddenly’ and ‘Animals’ merge into one long unwelcome stint on an album that could have been so much better. ‘Out There’ for example is an absolute gem - eight rewarding minutes of overblown emotion and drama strengthened only by its lush orchestration - is the band at their best. The soft acoustic romanticism of ‘Send Myself To Sleep’ is also a welcome change in tone and tempo, yet comes a little too late in the day to redeem this third album from following the fate of its predecessor.