His Name Is Alive – Ft. Lake

His Name Is Alive's fifth record follows the approach of the previous record: melodic, playful and catchy art pop/rock with unexpected twists and turns and themes of adolescence and longing. But this time around the songs are filled overt sexual and sensual imagery. There's humor in the wink wink double entendres. "Meet me at the door, and I'll come inside your house." "I will show you the roof/ Or at least the ceiling." One tune is from the perspective of comic strip character Charlie Brown, expressing his affection for a little red haired girl. In another, Warren lusts after a waitress. Wait, what? Where did that come from? As with the first four records, it of course sounds like nothing else. "Ft Lake" is, however, a close cousin to "Stars On ESP."

"Ft Lake" is also the debut of second lead vocalist Lovetta Pippen, who was part of the gospel group that contributed vocals to the band's previous album. She adds even more richness and depth to the sound. It also builds on the classic rock elements of the previous record, for example "Wish I Had A Wishing Ring."

As with the fourth record, these are very catchy songs you can hum. They will stick in your head. You might even say it's fun. You can crank it in the morning, the evening, anytime. It's so diverse, open and appealing, I feel it represents the third of the finest era in the band's catalog, along with "Mouth By Mouth" and "Stars on ESP." For me, this is His Name Is Alive's holy trinity of nearly perfect records.

The UK vinyl release of "Ft Lake" includes a bonus three track 7". The 7" is nice, but not essential unless you are a huge fan. FL doesn't need anything more. The Japanese cd also appends the album with the three bonus tracks.

FL is the kind of record I would recommend to anyone who likes adventurous, unpretentious and playful art pop/rock. I find it irresistible.

Following FL, His Name Is Alive evolved yet again into a kind of pop r'n'b sound, which saw their fortunes diminish and eventually led to 4AD dropping the band from their roster. For me, this era is not very interesting and erodes what made the band so unique.

Of course, years later they evolved yet again, into a guitar-centric, psychedelic classic rock sound. If there is one thing you can say about His Name Is Alive, it's that they tend to defy expectation.