Rubicon: Chains Are Gone

The first album by Rubicon -- basically the U.K. goth rockers Fields of the Nephilim with Andy Delany replacing Carl McCoy on vocals -- is a less pretentious and slightly poppier effort than anything the previous incarnation had managed. (Think Love and Rockets, not Bauhaus.) A huge part of the change is Delany's much less over the top voice, a controlled baritone subtly reminiscent of Peter Murphy and, at times, Peter Gabriel. McCoy also seems to have taken the Nephilims' occasional metallic tendencies with him; What Starts, Ends is a collection of lengthy, moody pop songs with occasional feints toward ambient music in spots recorded in 1992.