Broken By Whispers

During the late 1980s, Robert Wratten led the outer-London-suburb group the Field Mice through similar terrain. But back then he was trying to woo singer Annemari Davies into being his girlfriend. He eventually won and lost the girl. Now, clearly but not cleanly broken up, they soldier on as Trembling Blue Stars. Wratten's apparent frustration with his life and failures in love suggest that this isn't the healthiest arrangement for all involved. But the residual sparks--be they love's dying embers or the combustion of eternal tension--make for emotionally compelling listening nonetheless. Tempos are mostly slower than a heartbeat, resembling the ticking of time running out. Instrumentation ranges from austere shimmers of guitar to brooding organ chords that are nearly motionless. Titles such as "I No Longer Know Anything" and "Sometimes I Still Feel the Bruise" are precise examples of the torment contained inside. In many ways, it's less like listening to an album than reading the pages of someone else's diary. --Rob O'Connor