On her follow-up, Cruise once again worked with Lynch as lyricist (and percussionist!) and Badalamenti as musical creator, with results that on the one hand continue Floating with little variation and on the other introduce just enough difference into the brew. Ultimately Voice is a continuation more than anything else -- though who loved Floating with adore this, those who hated it could easily avoid this, and so forth. As a sequel, though, it's still good enough stuff. Like Floating, to an extent Voice is a semi-soundtrack for Lynch's work -- the queasy jazz-noir drones of "Up in Flames" appeared on his Industrial Symphony #1 project, while the soft shimmer "Questions in a World of Blue" cropped up on the Twin Peaks movie score. Interestingly, her Elvis cover for Until the End of the World, "Summer Kisses, Winter Tears," isn't here, but a interesting combination of drone and steady, semi-industrial beats titled after the movie is. The album stands alone just fine, though, another mysterious, dreamy float through a hazy post-fifties/post-punk mood zone. Nothing on the album is as instantly strong and memorable as "Falling," making it more a collection to be appreciated as a whole instead of in part. Certainly a lot of the music sounds like "Falling" or other first album highlights; given that Badalamenti shows variety in his other work, likely enough it's a decision on his part to maintain a certain mood with Cruise. If anything, the change would be in the drumming, which often is a little more upfront and pulsing (if still gently enough) than on Floating. "Movin' In On You" is a lovely example of Cruise's work on both lead and overdubbed harmony vocals, hitting the light shoo-be-doo-wop feel of songs like "The Nightingale" well, while the neat strut and swing of "Kool Kat Walk" is just plain fun.
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