Sic Transit Gloria

The album of understanding defeat, looking back on your distant triumphs from the approach of the mountain and wondering what could have been if you stayed on the summit a little longer. The lyrics are about the failures of the band, the failure of the marriage, the failure of friendships, the failure of life in its current state. The instrumentals alternate between two spectrums, the external and the internal. On the external, the songs are buoyant, incredibly rhythmic, and ... read more

The sound of falling asleep, on the brink of being awake and being in your dreams, flashes of warm but distorted images flash upon your mind and every now and then you have brief moments of clarity and understanding of your physical state, it's like hearing the occasional comprehensible syllable in Elizabeth Fraser's vocals. As you drift to bed, this album drifts with you.

Thriller meets Depeche Mode meets Abel's twisted musical soundscape. This is a real step up from After Hours, embracing the 80s sonically and aesthetically to a much larger degree but still creating music that is more genuine, well produced, and catchy. The soundtrack to a peaceful death and transition to the next stage of existence.

I enjoyed this record quite a lot, but it didn't entirely click with me. I absolutely love the way it starts out but don't think I was really prepared for the ultimate comedown, as beautiful as it was. I'm excited for relistens and watching the live performance though, there's a lot of gems here. Lou Reed certainly did not disappoint.