Talk about an inability to cash in on that momentum. Nevertheless, Clubbed
To Death has now hit the middle region of the Top 40 (though that success still
falls short of its sustained ubiquity) and Dougan's stop-start career can at
least have a real chance of taking off.
Unlike his nearest contemporary Craig Armstrong, who sticks to instrumental pieces
sliced with the odd high profile guest-vocal appearance thrown in, Rob Dougan
elects to perform what singing duties there are himself.
Those unprepared for his husky, gravelly tones might find it initially distracting
and at odds with the often exquisitely crafted neo-classical pieces or the pristine
rhythms to be found on the club-friendly tracks. Indeed, his Chris Rea-esque
rasp lacks much variety, which leaves the likes of I'm Not Driving Anymore, There's Only Me and Left Me For Dead sounding one-dimensional.
The brutal truth is that on these songs, and others such as Speed Me Towards Death
and Nothing At All, Dougan never really does the material justice as a
result. Only on the rousing, glorious finale One And The Same does the
result match its potential.
Nevertheless, the music's quality ultimately wins through, a 60-minute collage
of moody, introspective sounds that, thematically, stray little from a general
world-weary defiance and resigned nihilism.
Not exactly a barrel of laughs, then, but should the occasion demand it
Furious Angels offers the perfect brooding, yet oddly calming, atmosphere.
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
