Vox Humana

Personnel: Terry Scott Taylor (vocals, keyboards, synthesizer, percussion, background vocals); Tim Chandler (electric guitar, synthesizer, electric bass, 12-string bass, background vocals); Rob Watson (keyboards, synthesizer, percussion, background vocals); Ed McTaggart (synthesizer, drums, percussion).
Probably DA's most low-rent recording, this one, marred by both wretched engineering and strained arrangements, is saved by spectacular songwriting, with catchy melodies and clever wordplay. Certainly an unexpected follow-up to the guitar-heavy Doppelgänger, this album is heavy on low-tech keyboards and electric drums (the stereo panning on "Live and Let Live" is downright embarrassing). Very new wave and very synth pop, this third volume of the ¡Alarma! Chronicles once again comes with a surreal text on which most of the songs are based. One of their greatest songs, "Sanctuary," closes this disc, haunting and brooding. Another haunting and brooding tune is "William Blake," making a case that Blake's "visions" were not hallucinations but true spiritual experiences. Probably their biggest concert favorite, "Dance Stop," also saw the light of day here. ~ Mark W. B. Allender