As if miffed by the flood of Smiths comparisons their otherwise brilliant debut Olympia garnered, London's Gene call out the dogs, stiffening and toughening their sound for an even more spectacular and far more singular follow-up, the early favorite for 1997's LP of the year. Without changing their style, Drawn to the Deep End expands on it, determined to stretch their boundaries while digging in harder (hiring the ADAM & THE ANTS' old post-punk producer CHRIS HUGHES pays off big time). Right from the emotional rollercoaster of "New Amusements," which goes through several seamless changes (including a brooding piano solo and a vibrating, closing guitar trill riff), anchored by MARTIN ROSSITER's desolate, yearning, guttural vocal, Gene bang you over the head where once they tickled your toes. Read More