556. Therapy? / Infernal Love. 1995. 2.5/5

Following up an album like Troublegum is no mean feat, and I know at the time of this release I was probably over excited about the outcome of this new album. As in most instances of this occurring I was a little more than mildly disappointed in the result, and having given it a listen for a couple of weeks the CD went back into the cabinet with only fleeting glances in the following years, and generally for only a few chosen songs. So I have pulled it out once again to reminisce, to find out if age has soothed or damaged its reputation, and to review here. In the long run, I found that my opinion had changed very little over the years.

It opens at a cracking pace, with “Epilepsy” and “Stories” both terrific tracks. The energy of the songs perform the duty of the opening tracks of an album, they draw you in and excite your senses for what is to come. One of the failings of this album is that they are both fast paced tracks, and from this point there are some major speed bumps which detract from the remainder of the album. There is no doubt that the angst and anger and “Misery” (yeah, bad pun intended) is all there in all of these songs, but coming hard on the heels of Troublegum where almost all the songs are faster and heavier, these songs have never really sat well with me. Bringing in the horns and the cello’s to be innovative is not really a problem, as long as it doesn’t detriment the final outcome. I still like songs such as “Misery”, “Bad Mother” and “Loose”, but the overall mood of the album doesn’t quite click like its predecessor.

And “Diane” – well, it just doesn’t do it for me. To me it is the weak link of the album. I dislike it tremendously, and I have never really been able to get over it.

As a result, Infernal Love can only just be rated as average. Even now, so many years later, I feel the disappointment I felt 15 years ago, expecting this to be awesome. Apart from some brief breaks in the clouds, this is just some grey drizzle.