GOD'S OWN MEDICINE

Following their messy divorce from the Sisters of Mercy, Wayne Hussey and Craig Adams formed a new band, the Sisterhood. Before they got going though, more legal squabbling with the Sisters camp caused another name change. Now dubbed the Mission, they debuted with a pair of singles that set the stage for their full-length LP, GOD'S OWN MEDICINE. As the Mission, Hussey and Adams (along with the former drummer from the vastly underrated Red Lorry Yellow Lorry and the guitarist from the largely unknown Artery) explored a more prominent "rock" sound than any of their pedigrees would suggest. That said, the synthesizer washes and Hussey's end-on-end lyrical metaphors still toed the goth line pretty closely. Standouts include "Wasteland," which quickly recovers from it's stunningly pompus, spoken-word intro, evolving a steady rhythm of chugging drums offset by dueling guitars, and "Burning Bridges," a pushy, insistent track that highlights Simon Hinkler's crystalline guitar work. Also of note is the slithering rocker "Blood Brother," which features some of Hussey's more emotive vocals (though oddly enough, this track was not on the original album, rather it was added to the cassette and CD versions as one of the two bonus tracks).