8 Storey Window

Having the production and, on a couple of songs, playing assistance of Terry Bickers -- ex-House of Love/Levitation member and one of the more highly rated, if still cult-level, guitarists the U.K. ever produced -- should have meant there was distinctly a little more going on for 8 Storey Window than most bands. There was one small problem: The band wasn't that distinct to begin with. The opening number, "I Will," establishes both the threesome's basic ability at decent commercial alt-rock and the fact that they, like Bush, worship far too openly at the altar of Seattle 1992 to be of any real worth or interest. Vocalist Chris Conklin thankfully emulates Kurt Cobain at his more relaxed and slightly drawling rather than Eddie Vedder at his most portentous, and at times tries to establish a more unique, cool edge to his voice. Elsewhere, songs are mixed to bring out an ambient, calm restraint that puts 8 Storey Window more in line with British contemporaries the Catherine Wheel, a sense that gets a little stronger as the album continues on, happily enough. Otherwise, this effort generally suffers the same fate of so much released in the alternative boom of the early '90s, being far too middling to warrant much in the way of further investigation. The few points of interest unsurprisingly feature Bickers' additional guitar work, on the moody and mysterious "Close to the Sky" and the soft, acoustic "Next to Nothing." ~ Ned Raggett|