Innocence Mission

December 21 - 28, 1 9 9 5

*** Innocence Mission

GLOW

(A&M)

It's been a long four years since Umbrella, Innocence Missions' last album, which was full of electric guitar washes and layers upon layers of sound. Now the band has returned with a more acoustic collection that shows the rewards of experimentation. They are still anchored by Karen Peris's impressionistic voice, pleasantly forcing confused listeners to reach for the lyric sheets every time. The scope is a bit broader here, with songs of varying tempi and density, but all supported by a comfortable lilt. Poetry that touches on flowers, lawns, libraries, and clothes floating on a line make up the bulk of the lyrical material, though at times it's more the mood than the meaning of such simple things that makes the biggest impression. Less rushed than before, Peris easily stretches phrases until they almost break in "Bright As Yellow" and refrains from letting the band build a wall of sound around a song like "Our Harry." It works fine with just a finger-picked acoustic guitar.

-- Sander Wolf