Snow Job

They Say...

Review by Ned Raggett, All Music Guide

Six years on from the original Jack Frost effort, the duo returned, this time with new Church drummer Tim Powles providing the beats and Kilbey's brother Russell contributing bits here and there, with the equally satisfying Snow Job. The basic principle of the first album carried through here -- songs which don't quite fit the mold of either musician's work, solo or in a group, and which feature regular vocal collaboration or exchanges on most tracks. That said, there's a definite Church edge on numerous tracks in particular, possibly due to Powles' involvement, but at base just in the way songs like "Aviatrix" are sung and performed, Kilbey's sense of soft vocal drama and lyrical images and subtly epic, psych-inspired music fully to the fore. If McLennan doesn't always seem as prominent this time out, he definitely has his moments, such as with the grand "Angela Carter." The dramatic recitation/semi-rap (at least in a '60s Dylan sense) he gives on "Shakedown," filtered through a bit of production murk, adds to the claustrophobic, blasting strut of the music, making it a brief but worthy highlight. For the most part, Snow Job concentrates on moody, mysterious songs shot through with sudden musical flourishes -- buried electric guitar leads and drones, choruses that step forward from the songs, heavier crunch kicking in for emphasis (with a good example of the latter quality on "Empire," which oddly enough sounds a touch inspired by the Smashing Pumpkins' "Thirty-Three"). Sometimes there's a bit more direct rock bite -- "Cousin/Angel" offsets calmer verses with a more full-bodied chorus, while "Pony Express" swings with a bit of glammy kick tempered by the calmer vocals. If there's a hands-down standout, the fragile, pretty waltz "Weightless and Wild" is it, easily a rival to the best Church songs in the same vein and, when the electric guitars fully kick in, simply rapturous.