Siddal followed up Pedestal a year later with a second album that sounded...quite a bit like the first. Richard Brinkley and Elaine Winters knew what they wanted to do and still had a great time doing it, and the result was more digital-delay guitar shimmer, steady drum-machine beats, and high, dreamy singing, the Cocteau Twins slightly calmed down and lost in dreamscapes. In ways it's a classic case of a band that inevitably reminds one of its various inspirations while still retaining a specific appeal of its own, but such was the situation with Siddal from the start. Highlights are scattered throughout and all reflect the duo's ability to suddenly recombine the various pieces into fine new shapes. Beds of Light hits a gaze highlight with its liquid guitar loops and heavy echo, Winters' voice floating down like a slow cascade along with the music. Thornmakers also finds lush heights very well with a stronger arrangement compared to many songs on the album, spiked with a bit more energy and contrast between various guitar parts as well as a fine chorus. On a more propulsive tip, Eternity has a bit of driving Siouxsie the Banshees energy refracted into drifty calm to recommend it, not something as pounding or tribal as La Sioux herself by any means, but a bit of a polite kissing cousin nonetheless. Meanwhile, the concluding A Second Migration brings in polite dance beats to the fray, and while it's about as techno as Slowdive's low-key explorations in the field, it's still an enjoyable conclusion to a fine little album. ~ Ned Raggett, Rovi

1		Possible Dust
2		Centuries of Love
3		Maybe Heaven
4		Beds of Light
5		Oil Spills
6		Thornmakers
7		Secrets of the Blind
8		Eternity
9		The Women of Mercy
10		A Second Migration

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