Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

With their second full length album release, Arizona based brothers Bret and Bart Helm enter the arena with a continuing theme of Gothic flavored music and heavy duty lyrics described as " . . . snapshots of characters confronting the images and experiences that fuel their passage from child to adult, from innocent to debased." Bret's husky vocal, with a hint of an electronic effect, lends a definitely dark aura to the ". . . . journey through a landscape of innocence and its loss." The melodic guitar sounds provided by Bart range from acoustic to fuzz electric, from dark to darker, and wind through the vocals to keep the mood fluctuating.

AUDRA presents an eclectic mix that often conflicts with itself. The opening song, "Midnight Moon Swing," has major fuzz guitar backing the vocal with at least a musical hook. The lyrics are very repetitive, a pattern that continues throughout the album, which gets very irritating after a while, unless you're looking for a dark Goth trance experience.

The monotonal sound of "There Are No Snakes In Heaven" concentrates more on the lyrics and begins the saga of childhood. "Going To The Theatre" changes to acoustic guitar and again is more lyrically inclined, while "All Ghosts Spend Their Time Alone" continues the theme of childhood. "In A Dark Room . . ." picks up the pace a bit, but the monotone vocals and repetitive lyrics are getting old fast. The rest of the album continues the theme described above, while the music and lyrics fall into a pattern they can't seem to get out of. The rest of the tracks have good opening hooks, but almost immediately revert to boring. Strictly for die-hard Goth and trance fans.