With the release of Olympian in 1995, Gene were able to shoplift

the styling of the Smiths while injecting a desirable amount of

testosterone into the mix. While the general sound of the record was a

fresh change from the loud, in-your-face pub rock of much of the britpop

world, there seemed to be something missing from it. It was enjoyable to

say the least, but it never reached those moments of enchanting ecstasy as

a good Smiths record would. They always had it in them to be brilliant

though; to play the type of song that would suck you into pop heaven and

spit you out absolutely speechless. The rocking ending of "Be My Guide, Be

My Light," and the gorgeous ballad "Her Fifteen Years," mere B-sides,

hinted at shades of immortal splendor. Drawn To The Deep End is a

progression forward for the band, ridding themselves of their lovely but

often similar-sounding tunes, and replacing them with songs that are

diverse, well written, and deserve more than one listen to uncork their

charm.

"New Amusements," with it's Depeche Mode like intro and heavily distorted

vocals would have seemed out of place on the all too-smooth sailing

Olympian, but fits in perfectly on this sonic rollercoaster.

Another display of the diversity of this record is "The Accidental." The

song begins with a dark, gloomy atmosphere then suddenly intermits into

something like Jewels' "Who Will Save Your Soul," which is brilliantly

executed by former Propaganda singer Betsy Miller. Rocking hard by

anyone's standards is the noisy "Voice Of The Father," which sounds like

an unbridled "Dagenham Dave" with a brusque Morrissey on board. These

songs, while extremely dissimilar in texture, are compromised by

Rossiter's soaring vocal performances, Chris Hughes' (Adam Ant, Tears For

Fears, Definition of Sound) cohesive production, and wonderful lyrical

themes dealing with the trials and tribulations of love.

The standouts on this record are "We Could Be Kings" and "Long Sleeves For

The Summer" which, together, show the band maturing into classic melodic

song writers. The latter is a grand song about powerlessness to express

emotion over a soft bed of elegant acoustic guitars. Rossiter's silky

smooth vocals are truly moving and display his inherent ability to become

the characters he creates. "We Could Be Kings" is a pleading love song,

but this time it comes in a different package. The chorus of the song

soars into another dimension of listening pleasure, with Rossiter's voice

sounding appropriately roughed up on top of Mason's rock 'n' roll guitars.

When he sings the refrain "It's time to tell my friends I love them" the

sheer corniness of it is eclipsed by it's heartfelt honesty. These are the

songs on this record that will catch almost everyone's utmost attention

and receive arousing approval upon first listen. However, most of the

songs thrive only when you listen for the little details and hidden gems

that make them special.

Part of Olympians' problem was the fact that it seemed to be

created for the passive listener. The music was not intelligent, it didn't

think for itself, but sounded conceived by an all to perfect being. That

is not a good thing when you used to be as whimsical as Gene was. Drawn

To The Deep End has many moments where a keen listener would be drooling

over the littlest things that make some of these songs work. Take for

example the 2 seconds of carnival-like keyboard delight on "I Love You

What Are You," after the first rendition of "Life goes on and so must

you." All the background guitar noises in "Sub Rosa" or the brilliant

"Fighting Fit" produce disordered harmonies worth dying for. It's the

hidden sounds that really bring the flavor of these songs to the

forefront.

Altogether, this record is a substantial effort on the part of Gene. It

has more than enough ear candy to please a casual listener, but it's real

strength is in catering to the elite ear (for lack of a better word). In

other words, on first listen you'll think it's a great but with a couple

more you're likely to become completely immersed in it's haunting

charisma. Which is why Drawn To The Deep End is such an appropriate

title.