10,000 Maniacs - Love Among The Ruins (Geffen) The departure in 1993 of Natalie Merchant after 12 years as the voice, face and personality of 10,000 Maniacs must have left the band feeling hopeless about their prospects.
From among the ruins of the outfit the idea of papering over the chasm and carrying on with a replacement probably seemed like fraud: giving the fans something artificial which looked like the real thing . . . a sort of musical non-alcoholic beer.
But if you can see past this small problem you will find your reward because this record, made in the image of its predecessors, stands up to every Maniacs criterion. Although the writing credits are spread more widely than of yore, the lyrics remain observant, the themes similar: love, longing and lost childhood.
And then there is Mary Ramsey's voice: sweet, plaintive, whimsical - just, in fact, like Merchant's. Shining Light is a celebration of romance, You Won't Find Me There a painful admission of relationship failure; between the two, with the odd exception, the Maniacs run the whole gamut of emotions, from A to B.
The sound becomes a touch similar by the end of the offering, but there are surprises, especially a faithful cover of Bryan Ferry's More Than This to vary a load veering - in traditional Maniacs style - dangerously close to wistful self-importance.