Description
This Beautiful Mess is the sophomore album by American alternative pop band Sixpence None the Richer, released on R.E.X. Music in 1995. The album was produced and recording by Armand John Petri, who also managed the band from 1993 to 1997. Mixed by Bryan Lenox and Armand John Petri.
This Beautiful Mess surpassed 50,000 copies sold during its first year of release and laid the foundation for Sixpence’s self-titled breakout album two years later. The album won the 1996 Dove Award for “Alternative/Modern Rock Album of the Year,” and the songs “Within a Room Somewhere” and “I Can’t Explain” were both minor hits on the Christian music charts. Shortly after the release of the album, Tess Wiley (who had joined the band just before their tour in support of the debut album, The Fatherless and The Widow), left the band.
Sixpence have won huge amounts of critical recognition for their debut album ‘The Fatherless And The Widow‘, most of it centred around the songwriting and guitar playing of Matt Slocum and the delicate singing of 18 year old Leigh Bingham. Combine that with a trip to Greenbelt in ’94 which put them on the map in this country and the kudos of working with 10,000 Maniacs producer Armand John Petri and it’s clear that you have a powerful musical proposition. This, their second (proper) album, has been eagerly awaited and does not disappoint. There’s plenty of jangling guitar, loads of memorable songs and outstanding performances to make this an album to be reckoned with. Lyrically, Slocum is still writing to intrigue and mixing the theme of the harshness of life with the realities of hope which faith brings. Musically, it has a more muscular sound than its predecessor but still it’s a moody brooding affair with indie rhythms and swathes of feedback that characterise a song like «Bleeding», mixing in with more gentle performances like the incredible «Within A Room Somewhere». Musically beauty and the beast meet in a beautiful mess that will only help to project this excellent band further into the limelight. [Mike Rimmer, Cross Rhythms, December 1995]
[Bruce A. Brown, CCM, May 1995]
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/this-beautiful-mess/335698489)
CD tracklist:
01. Angeltread – 3:28
02. Love, Salvation, the Fear of Death – 3:51
03. Bleeding – 5:04
04. Within a Room Somewhere – 5:06
05. Melting Alone – 4:03
06. Circle of Error – 5:04
07. The Garden – 4:03
08. Disconnect – 4:20
09. Thought Menagerie – 3:11
10. Maybe Tomorrow – 4:22
11. Drifting – 3:42
12. I Can’t Explain – 3:25
Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and CD by R.E.X. Music. Later re-issued as a Limited Edition 12-inch vinyl LP.
CREDITS. Produced by Armand John Petri. Engineered and mixed by Bryan Lenox and Armand John Petri. Album artwork includes paintings by Debbie Taylor, Ben Pearson, Christie Knubel, Alexis Carrol, Kim Thomas, Jimmy A, Chris Taylor, and Rev. Howard Finster.
Personnel: Leigh Nash (vocals), Tess Wiley (guitar, vocals), Matt Slocum (guitar, cello), J.J. Plasencio (bass), Dale Baker (drums).
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