On their fifth album, Come Across, Bluebottle Kiss sounds assured; their songs are well-written and their playing polished. Imaginative arrangements combine the atmospherics of stadium rock a la Coldplay and Travis, with an emotive, raw edge reminiscent of Sunny Day Real Estate. Spearheaded by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Jamie Hutchings, the band has a knack for creating dramatic arcs and swelling climaxes. "Everything Begins and Ends at Exactly the Right Time" pits sustained organ tones against soaring electric guitar, buoying Hutchings shouted vocals, which are rife with vivid Old Testament references. Catchy straight ahead rock is supplied on "So Slow;" Hutchings croons over a solid groove. More delicate is "Can I Keep You?," a piano-propelled ballad with a lovely hook. Hutchings's lyrics are often cryptically ambiguous, but his use of apocalyptic imagery on "Cross Purpose" and "Ministry of Fear," along with the songs' harrowing musical accompaniments, creates a compelling, if somewhat dystopian, sound world.
1. Scouthall
2. Everything Begins and Ends at Exactly the Right Time
3. Something Tiny
4. Last Playboy in Town
5. Slow Train To A Comfy Jail
6. Can I Keep You?
7. So Slow
8. Sisters Head On
9. Cross Purpose
10. Crawling With Ants
11. Ministry of Fear