The second album by Sheffield's
Dylans is a hopelessly lackluster affair. Lead singer/guitarist Colin Gregory has a nasally quality that doesn't help add any punch to the half-baked lyrical ideas that he has concocted mostly with keyboard player Quentin Jennings. Musically, the band comes across as a lightweight version of
Oasis with one foot tentatively edging toward the dancefloor and the other trying to remain true to the band's earlier neo-psychedelic tendencies. "Children of the Flame" is banal and trite. "Kill Rave" is also a thin, slight number, which does receive some sonic goosing from soulful singing of the uncredited backup singers. The amusingly titled "Just One Big Plastic Hassle" fails to live up to the title.
The Dylans do manage to generate some momentum on "I'll Be Back to Haunt You" and "Wise Bird," but the two tracks occur well into
Spirit Finger and the energy is short-lived. ~ Tom Demalon