By some sick twist of ill fate, the swirling, swooning Matt Kramer is dumped, and Scott Bieler takes over the reigns of the band (his band!?), driving a huge nail in the coffin of this great band, despite there being some real moments of note on this lush record.'Water' is the sound of a band leaning away from the chunkier moments of the first two records, gliding effortlessly into some new wave rock bravado yet lacking any real meat or attitude to go the distance. This isn't a band washed up but more a band literally watered down as the title so adequately suggests. 'Water' is at times sweeping, pensive and breezy, yet rarely does it surprise like the first two records which so simply swaggered one minute, and the next tugged the heartstrings with a caressing balled, but this record has some sweet pockets, but it's a little too lightweight, Bieler's vocals a rather weak bleat in the face of Kramer's diverse ranting's. However, it must be said that as 'Water' drifts aimlessly into 1993, music of a heavier nature had already been crushed by the stampede of grunge and light-alterno college guys, and so the colourful phases of the late '80s and very early '90s were simply pollen on the wind, distant memories and fragrances.
but let us not forget the finer moments of this record, but when you hear the simple yet effective plonk of 'I Love You' or the strut of 'The Way', you'll certainly have your head in the clouds, but deep down wondering just what these would have sounded like had Kramer been behind the mic stand.
'Water' is still a nice little opus, awash with splendour, particularly the glorious 'When You Were Mine' and moody 'On And On', and some of these special episodes even made it as far as another album, 'the Devil In The Details', but four albums were just a little too much for a band who clearly expelled all their electricity during the time when it was simply meant to be.
7/10
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