BY the third album, most artists have discovered their voice.
They might try a new direction, but few have a full-scale personality split in the process (or if they do, it doesn't make it to the final cut). So quite what is going on here is unclear. It all begins hopefully enough with the mellow, catchy opener Something To Say and follows with the boppy Beautiful Nature with horns and hypnotic chorus.
Then comes the knock-out blow (or rather throw): Dice, a mesmeric tour-de-force weaving Quaye's quirky reggae-tinged husky voice with Beth Orton backing vocals and a haunting production from William Orbit.
After that, something goes amiss. In quick succession we time-travel through a mish-mash of musical styles from Righteous Brothers-like crooning and Kenny Rogers-esque country ballads to full-on Jamaican reggae. There's an anthemic Oasis-sounding number and a bit of copy-cat Lou Reed before Finley finds his voice again. Disappointing, and all the more so because he's capable of much more.
Updated: 09:28 Thursday, November 20, 2003
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