AMG Review of Strange Kind

Stephen Cramer
All Music Guide

Adrian Crowley offered up subdued melancholia on the rerelease of A Strange Kind, an orchestral and sad nine-song effort. Songs like "Slow Fuse" set a morose emotional climate for the album, while "Emotional Playground" chimes in with a lighter guitar and Crowley's trademark dramatic and soulful vocals. On "The Cage of My Ribs," Crowley creates a brooding atmosphere, his howling rising above everything. The instrumental "Trilogy" feeds off the album's downbeat energy, and includes a haunting piano performance by Crowley. The disc winds down with the restrained "Sister of Mine" and the airy "Safe House," on which Crowley puts his best foot forward, showcasing a delicate guitar and his echoing vocals. Recorded in Dublin in 1997-1998, Crowley played most of the instruments on the album himself, recruiting the help of percussionists Rabada and Thomas Haugh on select tracks, cellist Clifford Rees on two songs, while Donal O'Mahonny performed the e-bow on the closing track. Originally recorded and released in 1999, New Jersey's Ba Da Bing Records rereleased the remastered A Strange Kind in 2002.