There are no big poses or walls of crunchy guitars on
0898. Instead, the group -- which includes three lead vocalists -- deals in fragile melodies and harmonies, soulful but low-key instrumentation, and lyrics full of subtle social commentary and humor. In North America, where mainstream audiences have been well trained to salivate to very obvious musical bells,
the Beautiful South may be too clever for its own good. At times, the group even couches itself in the guise of a smooth lounge act, rebelling against current trends by having something to say while not making a racket about it. Producer John Kelly (
Peter Gabriel) has contributed an incisive and full-bodied production to
0898, a great improvement over the rather thin sound of the group's previous
Choke. ~ Roch Parisien