GENE Drawn To The Deep End (Polydor)

Why should Gene matter to anyone? After all, they’ve been written off as 
second-rate Smiths copyists since long before their first, sporadically 
brilliant, album "Olympian", only to compound the problem by following it 
with a collection of b-sides, Radio 1 sessions, non-album singles and 
live tracks before anyone could say "Hatful Of Hollow". Then there’s 
Martin Rossiter’s clearly heartfelt but equally clearly ridiculous 
interview ramblings centred on how Gene, the finest band of this 
generation, are privileged to count amongst their members the finest 
songwriter of this generation, as in, er, him. 
Gene should matter, to some people at least, because in a world devoid of 
first-rate Smiths copyists the second-rate Smiths copyists should be 
kings. And, for their many faults, Rossiter is not so absorbed in 
wallowing in his alleged depression to dispatch the odd half-good 
bejewelled nugget of tainted optimism, for example "Where Are They Now?", 
"Speak To Me Someone", "Why I Was Born", "Long Sleeves For The Summer" 
and "Save Me, I’m Yours", which form the emotional core of "Drawn To The 
Deep End". Added to which, Steve Mason is probably the most delicate 
guitarist to ever not be a Cocteau Twin. 
What Gene could happily lose, however, is the bombastic sub-Floyd pomp 
that constitutes the opening track "New Amusements", and the 
uncharacteristically boneheaded bravado that plagues the singles 
"Fighting Fit" and to a lesser extent "We Could Be Kings". And there’s 
nothing on here that’s makes for as downright perfect a soundtrack for 
the downtrodden as their majestic "Sleep Well Tonight", surely destined 
to be the high watermark of Gene’s career, at least in their present 
incarnation. "Drawn To The Deep End" is emphatically not the terrific 
second album Gene so desperately needed to silence the doubters, but it 
has enough moments of understated loveliness to suggest that their time 
has yet to arrive. 



djwheelspin@hotmail.com

Having not been a great fan of Gene, I was startled, no ............blown 
away, by the sheer quality of this album. Although worth it for 'we could 
be kings' alone, the record has many other great tunes. If you're not to 
keen on Gene prepare to have your musical world changed. 



pabloh@fsmail.net

"Drawn to the Deep End" is an astonishingly accomplished album, once 
again demonstrating that Gene are one of Britain's finest indie bands. 
From the more experimental opening track to the hit singles "Fighting Fit" 
and "We Could be Kings"(the stand-out track in my view) this a record 
which moves, uplifts and expresses sadness. The opening 5 or 6 tracks are 
on a level with any other indie band in the country and demonstrates once 
again that Gene deserve to be much much bigger. A beautiful and emotional 
record. 



Guy_Dewsbury@Yahoo.com

The third album that appears to be the pinnacle of their career. This cd 
comprises the melodic interlude that could be expected from lesser 
mortals with the power and ergency of a group you have to respect. As a 
conceptualised record it works to perfection swinging the listener 
between the highs and nadirs of their emotions. Truely a classic that 
will at some point be recognised. 



www.lewisslade.com/genemusic