The Cranes used acoustic guitars, a harpsichord, strings, piano, sirens and other noises to bring the album Forever to life. Mixed atop all of this, Allison Shaw's impossibly dreamy, high voice remained the centerpiece of the Cranes' sound. The concerts in support of Forever were brilliant gothic spectacles: a harrowing mix of live instruments, industrial noises, a range of electronics and programmed material, and Allison Shaw. A tiny child's voice surfaced amid the chaos of a car crash.
The important elements of previous Cranes' material still clearly animates the band on their most recent release, Loved. Traditional pop structures are still dismissed in favor of looped hooks and eclectic layers of sound. Attention is still paid to varied percussion. And, despite a less harrowing atmosphere, Allison Shaw's voice is still featured prominently in the swirling, stuttering sounds that comprise the songs.
Loved opens with the single, "Shining Road." The song follows in the footsteps of Forever: sumptuous arrangements layered with acoustic and electric guitars, interesting percussion and in this case, even a xylophone. Next, "Pale Blue Sky" features a sinister guitar framework that makes Allison Shaw's vocals comforting rather than eerie.
The fourth song, "Lilies," moves more toward the atonal sound of Forever's "Adrift." The lyrics of "Lilies" are reprinted on the sleeve - a first for Cranes. A sample: "Those rainbows are long gone/And mud lies where those/days once shone/And now there's just a space..."
The album's title track is propelled by a bass line like a stomach ache and punctuated with bursts of electric guitar. "Beautiful Friend," "Bewildered," and "Come This Far" wander to the reverberations of guitars in an echo chamber, much like those frequently generated by Echo and the Bunnymen. Stark, incessant percussion work stamps the Cranes trademark onto these tunes.
The final two tracks, "Paris and Rome" and "In The Night," present a new version of gothic Cranes. The darkness derives more from a hushed atmosphere rather than from scary noises.
Allison and Jim Shaw have penned a solid successor to Forever. The musical direction of Loved progresses from Forever in a similar fashion as that album did from Self Non Self and Wings of Joy; away from the brutal side of the Cranes sound. Compared to Forever, Loved has fewer raw industrial noises and less dissonance. In fact, outside "Lilies" and the title track, there is almost nothing abrasive about Loved. In the past, the Cranes may have consciously added to the more brutal, grating aspects of their music to avoid a novelty act label that could have accompanied Allison's ridiculously helium-hued voice. But, now onto their fourth record, they have certainly hurdled such criticism. Perhaps it is simple confidence that allows the Cranes to continue to lighten their sound.
- Tim Mohr
