Hullabaloo

Like a summer squall, baggy had blown into the British music scene, and then just as quickly dissipated, leaving behind a short-lived rainbow of technicolor records. Very short-lived. Indeed, the non-charting fate of the Farm's preceding set, Love See No Colour made the band's time especially short, which probably explains Hullabaloo's overwhelmingly downbeat feel. Much of the set is given over to introspective numbers, beginning with the power ballad "Comfort," and continuing along its downtempo path through the moody "To the Ages," the wistful "Golden Vision," the brooding "Distant Voices," the melancholic "The Man Who Cried," and the haunting "Echoes." All are lovely in their own way, but they were never going to excite fans or the charts. But dig deep and there's an oasis or three of brightness — the anthemic "Messiah" and the techno driven "Hateful" both recall the Farm's happier harvests, while the rocking "All American World" is solid gold. With more moments like those, maybe the Farm wouldn't have gone bust. But, in truth, baggy was finished, and the band with it.