Gary Chandler and Co. return for their 8th variation on a same theme. Fanatic has them returning to the same formula which has been their trademark since the debut disc , nearly 12 years ago. This is textbook British neo in all it's glory (just how glorious this all is I will leave up to the individual reader). I get the impression that these guys wrote a song back in '91; enjoyed it so much, that they just keep tweaking it to release disc after disc. Don't get me wrong, it's a fairly good song, it's just that everything becomes so interchangeable with this band that you could throw all their discs into a CD changer and have a tough time differentiating which disc you are listening to at any particular moment. John Jowitt (bass) and Martin Orford ( keyboards) of IQ fame return once again to assist Gary. (I think these guys lost a bet and haven't fully paid it off yet).
For those of you unfamiliar with Jadis, let me briefly explain their style. As mentioned above, they have the patented British neo sound , reminiscent of bands such as Grey Lady Down, Pendragon, and Pallas. Gary Chandler is the front man as most tracks are filled with his crooning voice , and bluesy guitar stylings. All tracks are built on the same frame; in that they all have the same tempo, very similar choruses, and ambiguous lyrics.
Gary can play though and many of his solos are very tasty, it's just too much of the same thing. Martin Orford never gets showcased here which is a shame as his work with IQ is fantastic. It's like having a Corvette and never driving past 55 mph. If you like these guys then you'll like this disc. If you're new to this band, this disc is as good as any to introduce you to their style. If you've heard them in the past and were curious as to whether they'd grown in any way, this review is the answer: Aside from a couple of tracks which show us a slightly harder edge to their sound, it's the same old Jadis.
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