Published on May 19, 1999
If you’ve read this site for some time, you know that my musical
awakening came while I was in college, especially during my two
years in college radio. Thanks to the true “alternative” format, I
was exposed to artists I had never heard of before, and quickly
learned to appreciate much more about music than just heavy metal
and classic rock.
But despite my new-found knowledge, there were still groups that
I wasn’t willing to take a chance on for one reason or another. One
such group was the Scottish band Texas, who were struggling to get
noticed in the early ’90s. It wasn’t until 1997, with the track
“Say What You Will” (off their
White On Blonde album) that Sharleen Spiteri and crew
finally got noticed by the mainstream.
Now, with their latest release
The Hush, Texas continues in the similar path that landed
them their first hit single in the United States – and while the
music is pleasant enough, one has to wonder if the formula isn’t
overused a bit.
The first single from the album, “In Our Lifetime,” sounds
almost like a carbon copy of “Say What You Will”. And while I won’t
claim that I know everything there is to know about Texas – hell,
for that matter, they could have been playing music in a similar
vein their entire career – I can’t say I’m crazy about trying to
build on success by doing the same thing again. It’s not an
unpleasant song, but it almost suggests a lack of originality.
Originality is not always the problem on
The Hush; tracks like “The Day Before I Went Away,” “Day
After Day” and “Saint” are evidence that Spiteri and the band can
come up with new ideas. The overall sound comes off as Everything
But The Girl playing an amalgam of soul and rock – not an
unpleasant mix, I must say.
The difficulty with
The Hush is that it doesn’t command the listener’s attention
the way that it should, especially seeing that Texas wants to build
on the fan base it finally really gained with
White On Blonde. Tracks like “Summer Son,” “When We Are
Together” and “The Hush” are decent enough, but they too easily
slip into so much background noise. Repeated listens help a little
bit, but Texas should have tried to go for the jugular on the first
listen.
Of course, if you fell for this band on the basis of the one
American hit, chances are that
The Hush will please you. But I question if playing it safe
this time around will help Texas in the long run, or if it might
suggest they were a one-shot deal.
The Hush is a decent, albeit too gentle, album that should
make the long-time fans of Texas happy. But what they need at this
stage isn’t necessarily satisfaction of the die-hard fans, it’s the
conversion of new ones.