Mixing and matching like mad, this distaff duo -- Englishwoman Siobhan Fahey and American Marcella Detroit -- hits pay dirt on their second release.
"Goodbye Cruel World" blends the muted oomph of "Ruby Tuesday"-era Rolling Stones with the exoticism of the Cocteau Twins. "I Don't Care" sounds like an effervescent version of the Pretenders. "Catwoman" is an electric boogie that brings to mind Norman Greenbaum's classic "Spirit in the Sky". The ladies are too soulless for the funk of "Are We In Love Yet" or the rave-up "Emotional Thing". But they credibly render such mid-tempo numbers as "My 16th Apology." The best tracks represent well-produced pop craft, all shot through with feverish gothic draftiness. Neither Fahey (a Bananarama alumna) nor Detroit has an impressive voice, but that is less than ever a factor in pop success. (Let's face it: Madonna ain't no Lena Horne.) In any event Shakespear's Sister, like many of her relatives, lives in a rarefied world where melody is secondary to mood. David Hiltbrand Reprinted w/o permission.
