Living And Dying... is the second album from this UK band, and they appear to have perfected the knack of mixing sumptuous arrangements with enough grit to prevent them from becoming just a rehash of American ideals.
Led by Tony Mills, who has rarely sung with such craft and control as he does here, Serpentine are very adept at writing songs with patient choruses and then giving these enough kick to deliver maximum impact. Best on this record are the anthemic Deep Down (There’s A Price For Love), the soaring Where Do We Go From Here? and the power balladry of Cry; only on a couple of tracks do things drag a little.
The shame is that Mills will now restrict his input to the writing side, with Matt Black fronting the band. But if they can retain this sort of standard, then Serpentine could be sailing very calm waters to success. At times they’re almost Journey-esque.
