Spiritchaser (Gatefold LP Jacket) (2 Lp's)

Dead Can Dance's SPIRITCHASER continues the band's interest in widening their musical (and lyrical) palate. This album contains Haitian, Native American, and modern dance influences, and even clips a reference from a George Harrison song ("Within You, Without You") on "Indus." The record's sleeve contains a brief discussion of how music is the expression of souls contained within instruments. This theme is oddly, though probably not accidentally, in keeping with the fact that SPIRITCHASER was the last Dead Can Dance record--following it, Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard parted ways to pursue individual careers. Standouts include the spectacular, and lengthy (at around 10 minutes), "Song of the Stars," a section of which is sung in Haitian; the aforementioned "Indus," built on Gerrard's amazing voice; and "Song of the Dispossessed," in which the narrator, through Perry's resonant voice, laments the loss of the old world to the influence of Christianity. The best track here, though, is "The Snake and the Moon," which uses electric guitars and medieval choral vocals to create something that shows that Dead Can Dance are as hip to the contemporary as they are to the out-of-time. SPIRITCHASER is a fitting final chapter to this band's fascinating work.