This album is one that I've been meaning to review for ages. It will be good to write this much-needed review.

I received this CD from my parents at the age of fifteen as a congratulations for performing well in a big, nasty piano recital. It was one of the first albums that I owned that wasn't by Rush, my all-time favorite band, and (to be brutally honest) my first album with a “nasty cuss” in it. I had heard one of the songs, “Touched”, on the radio a few times, and I'd seen the video for the song “Pretty When you Cry – quite possibly one of the most disturbing and odd music videos ever (and one of my very favorites - link to it here) on TV once.

As I put it in and began to listen to it, I never would have guessed how much my tastes in music – and my own writing of music – would be changed, just because of this disc.

This album is exceptionally written – from the opening orchestral piece to the ending noises, almost everything on this disc is right. I'm not one to usually put a label like that on a disc, usually I can find a reason to fuss and suss about an album, but this one just has everything right where it needs to be and how it needs to be to turn out awesome.

Jon Crosby's morose voice fills the ears with melancholy, and the music is often creepy and atmospheric. But I think the biggest thing that sets this album apart from so many other alt-rock efforts is Crosby's use of samples and loops of eerie chants and noises. They somehow fit into the music to elevate it to a level unachieved by most groups.

The emotion of the lyrics is felt, and at times, profound – and not a note feels wasted in the whole disc. I'm sure I sound like I'm gushing, but this whole set of songs just fits together. While any song (with the possible exception of the single untitled instrumental) is worth putting the disc in just for that single song, the fact that the whole album is filled with tunes like these is astonishing.

Tracks to catch: “Here”: The album-opener begins very strong – starting with a full orchestra, building and building, with the drums leading into an extremely crunchy guitar riff that is carried throughout the whole powerful, bangy song. Awesome. “Touched”: This was their big single off of this record, and it's amazing. “Pretty When You Cry”: So creepy, but so good. Watch the video to hear this song. “Flames”: This touching love song with a simple fingerpicking guitar and a gorgeous cello part is more than adequate to tug at your heartstrings. “The Nile's Edge”: The last four songs on this album are all connected by the use of the same chant, but this is my favorite of the pseudo-suite.