Falls short of potential

Tinderbox. I've never been sure of my rating for this one. I always have the feeling that it's better then I thought. However, after careful consideration, I'm content to give it a three and a half.

Hyaena was hurt mostly by over-production. Tinderbox has a different problem: a lack of dynamics (especially on headphones). Allow me to clarify...

It gets off to a fastpaced start with Candyman. The lyric is very dark and the music is quite good, though the backing vocals never fail to irritate me.

The Sweetest Chill is rather pretty. It's carried by Sioux's fine voice and the backing forms a nice compliment. But it has no staying power whatsoever.

It morphs into This Unrest. It's harder-edged, and designed for speakers. On headphones it's not very interesting and never adds up to anything important. And it's a bit overlong.

After that comes Cities in Dust, a real breath of fresh air. The melody is great and it's very enjoyable to hear. Easily one of Tinderbox's best.

Cannons drives home the album's emphasis on really bad weather. Its structure is interesting and it's a quick listen, but again it falls just short of its potential. And sounds worse on headphones...

I'm probably the only person to hear this CD that doesn't love Party's Fall. It's pretty, and I like the lyric, though the melody isn't very strong. Again.

92 (degrees) is more interesting. It finally gets some dynamics and goes through a few segments. Maybe I'm being too harsh on this record, as is does sweep you along in a way. But the background soundscape doesn't change very often and the five bonus tracks really drag it out.

Land's End is the standout. It's melodic, soothing, darkly beautiful and paints a lovely picture. This one is my personal favorite, and the end of the original record.

The Quarterdrawing of the Dog is the only complete instrumental the Banshees ever did. That gives it a certain extra interest for me, though it doesn't exactly uphold that.

An Execution starts with an ominous instrumental section before Siouxsie speaks of a gruesome execution for a thankfully short time. Then it wraps up with a surprisingly wistful and melodic ending. If the middle wasn't so absolutely horrendous, it would have been a successful moment.

Lullaby calls up shades of the other soft, gentle tracks heard here. The inclusion of a wind instrument is a good touch, as is the sudden darkness hinted at towards the end. And it's short too.

Umbrella is very similar to This Unrest, though with scarcely any vocals. It's interesting enough.

Last is a totally pointless inclusion. Cities in Dust (Extended Version). It amounts to little more than a remix and is a whole three minutes longer than the original! It's the longest track on Tinderbox and doesn't do any good.

Okay, Tinderbox is worth a listen. ON SPEAKERS. Don't forget that. The lyrics are good and it's got some gems on it. Siouxsie sounds great and it isn't swamped by the production team as badly as Hyaena was. Still, it lacks strong melodies and individuality, and it's way too long. It is unable to achieve greatness, which is a pity, as it could have.

Maybe I'm missing something. After all, the reviews on Amazon universally adore it.