After a seven year absence, XTC are pared down to the songwriting duo of Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding. Rather than rebuild a band, they chose to hire an orchestra, resulting in lush, bucolic arrangements that recall the sound of Skylarking, if not its majestic melodies. The symphonic strings and warm horns are inviting, like a chamber music serenade in a post-wedding gondola ride. But soon they feel insecure that they may be revisiting old ground, so they ambush you with unsettling atonal notes and the boat tips over.
Some of the songs grow over you like pale green moss over repeated listens, and others stay forever inaccessible. While Apple Venus can’t completely escape the shadow of the past, it’s a typically pleasant, whimsical ride, at least for hardcore XTC fans. Although if they were to retread anything, I would personally prefer the spastically caffeinated, prickly pop of White Music and Go 2. or even the the abrasive but engaging The Big Express.
