Additional personnel includes: Tim Friese-Greene (conductor); Sara Lee (background vocals).

Producers: Tim Fries-Greene, Rob Dickinson.

Personnel: Brian Futter, Rob Dickinson (vocals, guitar); Neil Sims (vocals, drums, percussion, programming, loops); Sara Lee (background vocals).

Audio Mixer: Mike Shipley.

Recording information: Helioscentric Studio, Hye.

Photographers: Rupert Truman; Stephen Stickler.

If you want to gain some perspective on how lacking Catherine Wheel's fifth studio LP is, just compare each of the nine songs to anything on Like Cats and Dogs, the band's collection of B-sides and outtakes. You'd be hard pressed to get the Catherine Wheel of 1992 or even 1997 to do more than sneeze at the majority of the album. Most of these songs wouldn't have seen the mixing process at any earlier point in their career. Nothing on Wishville grabs you by the throat like Adam and Eve's "Broken Nose," and nothing wins your heart after dozens of plays like "Thunderbird" or "Here Comes the Fat Controller." Though the record contains some of the most spartan arrangements the band has composed, much of it seems forced and awkward. The lyrics are no help, containing Rob Dickinson's weakest songwriting. He still tops most rock lyricists, but a high standard was set in the earlier records; these songs don't come close to matching the rest of his writing. And by firing bassist Dave Hawes prior to recording, they killed their rhythm. Dickinson, Brian Futter, and Tim Friese-Greene supply mediocre basslines throughout. You can't tell if Wishville is the sound of a band losing steam or just being too self-conscious. And while we're in Wishville, let's wish this isn't anyone's introduction to the band. They might find it to be decent modern rock, but the deck would be stacked against a newbie exploring the rest of the band's fruitful and adventurous catalog. The cover artwork may smack of Ummagumma, but here's hoping the music is just another momentary lapse of reason. ~ Andy Kellman

Catherine Wheel first bowed onto the U.K. music scene in 1992 with "Black Metallic," a haunting single from their debut, Ferment. These shoegazers introduced a raucous sound so real that their maddening lyrics and lustful connotations were dramatic, in the sense that they were searching for spiritual place.

Catherine Wheel did find a spiritual place of sorts in their new label, Columbia since being dropped from the now defunct Mercury Records in 1997. Wishville marks the band's fifth release of original material since 1997's Adam and Eve and their juggernaut passion is right-on this time around. Produced by longtime advocate-producer Tim Friese-Greene (Talk Talk), Wishville is typically embryonic like 1993's Chrome, and the majesty of rock & roll seems steady. The opening "Sparks Are Gonna Fly" pounces with wah-wah guitar riffs and throbbing percussion over frontman Rob Dickinson's deep scratchy, airless vocals. Dickinson is irresistibly cunning, and the fiery soul on tracks such as "Ballad of Running Man" and "What We Want to Believe" is stripped into lush sonicscapes of riveting guitar riffs and whining harmonic cries. Internal emotional tension swivels inside Dickinson's poetic mind, but that intensity quickly dwindles.

Catherine Wheel's signature ballads are moody and deeply dramatic. Wishville, however, reaches for the same tenderness, but to no avail. "All of That" is a personal trip to an outside world, but it is not relatively believable; "Creme Caramel" frolics with sensual illusions to wedding-night thighs and river-blue eyes, but the '60s synth strings are draining. Catherine Wheel is sweetly smooth, but a touch distant when they wish upon a star. ~ MacKenzie Wilson

In the days of FERMENT, CHROME, and HAPPY DAYS, Britain's Catherine Wheel rocked about as hard as any thrash band while retaining a basic melodiousness, a combination which made them darlings of the indie/college rock circuit. 1997's ADAM & EVE found the foursome toning down their guitars for a more brooding pop sound to excellent effect, after which label shake-ups left them virtually silent for three years.

WISHVILLE emerged amid rumors of break-up and turmoil. Here, Catherine Wheel start loud, while incorporating just the right subtle touch of electronics, before revealing their breathtaking soft side. Rob Dickinson's vocals remain as forceful as ever; the timbre of his voice on this release, particularly on the reflective "All Of That," evokes the best of Peter Gabriel's work. Catherine Wheel's sound, however it mutates, from fiery anthems like "Gasoline" to practically symphonic offerings such as "Idle Life," remains distinctive in this remarkably even, mature fifth studio album.