Lush - Split

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Music reviews of Split

Music Review: Lush's transcendental breakthrough and artistic maturation.
Rating: 5 Stars

Berenyi takes a quantum leap in lyrical and melodic sophistication with her contributions to this album and Anderson responds with dynamic lead-guitar lines and her usual rock-solid backing vocals. The haunting fairytale "Light from a Dead Star" was one of the best songs of the '90s, with enchanting interplays of guitar, drums, the steady bassline and string arrangements swirling into one of the most beautiful compositions of the decade. A simple story of love, escapism and loneliness rendered immortal by a whispered Berenyi vocal -- and the intricately woven harmonies in the third verse have to be heard to be believed. The album doesn't lag after this exquisite opening: "Kiss Chase", a rushing pop gem detailing a twisted romance from, seemingly, the point of view of a young girl ("I remember a woman with silver hair/And the smell and the taste of the bed we shared"). The dual-chorus structure of this song resembles Taste of Joy, and the songwriting and arrangements are extraordinary. "Hypocrite", the first single, is Lush's first rock-out song, with a cutting guitar solo and Berenyi going out of her cooing vocal style to sing a snarling lead vocal with a defiant lyric. Very exciting. "The Invisible Man" is downright frightening in its militant drumbeat and repeated chorus ("Please let me start screaming"); "Lovelife" is a happy-go-lucky ode to romance sonically but hides a dark ironic edge ("My blood is full of lead/Things unsaid/My love for you still burns"); "Desire Lines", the centerpiece of the album, is an extended ballad with Anderson's simple, evocative guitar line dominating; "Lit Up"'s ringing guitars are beautiful; and "When I Die" ends the album on a tender note, a melodic ballad with one of Berenyi's best vocal performances on record.

Split began the arc for a new, exuberant direction for Lush, with the next stop being the near-perfect masterpiece Lovelife. The band has been on hiatus due to the unfortunate passing of drummer Chris Acland, but with the tremendous growth the band's demonstrated with each album since 1990 (four so far, not counting the excellent B-side collection Topolino), one hopes Berenyi and Anderson would re-emerge from the tragedy scarred but victorious.

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