c o n r a d

Habitat is the third album by Man on Fire, who with this album added Rob Sindon as a permanent member on drums. Also, David Ragsdale makes a welcome return as a guest musician on violin and Adrian Belew contributes with guitar. Habitat is a concept album about a residential block (the titular "Habitat") that is developing a rather malicious sentience. Between the first and last songs, both of which detail Habitat's observations, we are introduced one by one to its denizens. The experiences are negative ones, with several exceptions, most notably that of the priest. As a concept, the album holds together reasonably well; despite being a compartmentalised rather than a flowing narrative, the underlying dystopian vision lends an effective link throughout. Musically, Habitat is quite similar to The Undefined Design in general terms. The quality is perhaps slightly higher, with "The Block" being a very strong opening number and "Majestic" coming surprisingly close to living up to its title. A notable failure, however, is the track "Love Never Lost," a musically clichéd and sickly-sweet song. The key change is executed in such a hackneyed way that it sets my teeth on edge every time. Still, this album is generally stronger than its predecessor, and anybody who enjoyed The Undefined Design will not be disappointed, except perhaps with "Love Never Lost." That said, it's not a huge leap forward by any means and still fails to excite me personally. review by Conrad Leviston — 3-26-07 —