Carved in Sand LP

Something cracked open for the Mission on Carved in Sand, the record that put them back in the UK top ten for a second time, climbing to No. 7 behind songs cut with Tim Palmer at Jacobs Studios in 1990. Reeves Gabrels, Baluji Shrivastav, and Guy Chambers all slip into the margins of other people's songs here, which is how a goth band ends up with its best-selling record and a Gold certification from the BPI without anyone calling it a sellout move. This pressing carries a fresh master from George Shilling, one stop in a run through the band's first three Mercury albums, and it still sounds like it's trying to claw its way out of its own grave.