It has been, as they say, a hard-knock life for Spooky Tuesday. Their first two albums had a miniscule shelf life due to the collapse of their label Innocent Media, and it seemed that they were forever doomed to a life of hearing "Spooky who?" Fortunately for them, Jackson/Rubio Recordings signed them, and they have just released a new album entitled The Trouble We Make.

I missed the band's second album, Happy Dissonance, so I am not exactly sure how much this latest release differentiates from it. However, it is drastically different from It'll Never Fly, Orville!, replacing acoustic guitars and shiny melodies with emo-tinged, distorted alternative music. It doesn't quite work. 

Lead singer Andrew (only first names are given in the liner notes) has an unattractive, raspy voice that often fails to hit the intended notes. This is most evident on the almost alt-country "Take Over Me," with its disgustingly off-key chorus. His vocals are countered by the typical female alternative vocals of Jessica, which, although nothing special, can at least hit the prescribed notes.

The only song that is really acceptable is the opener, "Breaking Out," in which Andrew wails:

     I lost the feeling and I'm falling down.
     Feels like I'm drowning.
     I lost the feeling in my darkest hour.
     But You died to pull me out.

As you can tell, the lyrics are also not of much consequence. The band seems content to tread water in the same ocean that 95% of Christian alternative bands have already swum, rather than explore their own pool. Most of the lyrics could probably be called "praise and worship," but they are, for the most part, flat and dull.

Personally, I would enjoy a return to the sound of It'll Never Fly, Orville!. The Trouble We Make does not do much for me.

Michial Farmer   10/18/99