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1993, Melody Maker
(Single of the week - 1)
WITH every new record, Cranes lose a little bit of their starkness, gain a few more embellishments and discover more of their own natural fluidity. Where once they would fall into petrified, clockwork patterns, they now flow along more luxuriant lines. They haven't just gained colour, they've become flushed.
Alison Shaw now looks as if she could be a figurehead at the prow of a galley, and "Adrift" carries the same far-sighted grace, the soundtrack to a ghost-ship becoming ever more tangible as it sails out of the mist. Alison's wisp of a voice curls like smoke tendrils after a hand's passed through it, while an acoustic guitar strums purposefully, flourished by languid siren sounds and rich swathes of orchestration. The music dips and sways as though it's navigating it's way through clashing currents. It finally picks up momentum, surging into a sumptuous, full-blooded storm, destination unknown.
Cranes are stepping out into the light, and their world's becoming ever more familiar. Three years on from "Self-Non-Self", Cranes are still a revelation.
© Melody Maker 1993
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