Shallow Life (Play.com Exclusive CD & DVD Digipack)

lt was with some trepidation l received this in the post, having read a pre-release interview with Cristina that Don Gilmore was producing them & creating the next Evanessence(!) - a peculiar concept, considering many were of the opinion that Evanessence were the copycat, MTV clone version of LC, & so l wasn't looking forward to what this producer had made of the real thing - in the event, at least there was some relief to find that 'the coil' are still recognisable as such, but on repeated plays realised it's for all the wrong reasons - my other LC albums have been in repeat play for several years, yet retain their freshness & intensity, but there's little on here to promise this new sound will have any of the longevity that came from such intricate songwriting & confessional lyrics - Gilmore is actually given equal credits on the album as lyricist & this has reduced the band to nursery rhyming "fly/sky" on songs such as l Like lt, a likable enough track, with all the potential… more »

lt was with some trepidation l received this in the post, having read a pre-release interview with Cristina that Don Gilmore was producing them & creating the next Evanessence(!) - a peculiar concept, considering many were of the opinion that Evanessence were the copycat, MTV clone version of LC, & so l wasn't looking forward to what this producer had made of the real thing - in the event, at least there was some relief to find that 'the coil' are still recognisable as such, but on repeated plays realised it's for all the wrong reasons - my other LC albums have been in repeat play for several years, yet retain their freshness & intensity, but there's little on here to promise this new sound will have any of the longevity that came from such intricate songwriting & confessional lyrics - Gilmore is actually given equal credits on the album as lyricist & this has reduced the band to nursery rhyming "fly/sky" on songs such as l Like lt, a likable enough track, with all the potential to've been as good as Self-Deception, from Comalies, except Cristina not only sings a dire lyric, but in a style not her own, but seemingly under instructions to sound like Avril Lavigne - the structure of this & all the other tracks, is not metal, it's pop music played inmetal style & fans of Bon Jovi & Motley Crue will have orgasms over it, but for the LC collector this is a retrograde step & presents nothing they hadn't achieved on their original EP, only with MTV lyrics - 0blivion, the bonus track, is the only sign of hope that the real LC are still there & might return in their old, mature style of mellow metal, though even this track sounds bland compared to previous productions - despite the departure from their hauntingly beautiful sound & intelligent lyrics, worst of all though, is the keyboard playing here, never a strong point of the band in my opinion, but now they're unbelievably beginners level & sound very 80's, the title track being a case in point, & very reminiscent of Cold Heritage from Unleashed Memories, which was also spoilt by clumpish keyboards - Shallow Life this set is called & pertinanetly so, considering that though this mess might be the fault of the producer, they're not puppets & have willingly gone the Stateside/MTV route, albeit wearing red armbands like Bolshevik revolutionaries - a ridiculous affectation, & if they choose to criticise shallowness, then they need to learn the adage,'those in glasshouses shouldn't throw srones'...