The first and last tracks of Crowded House's fourth, and most satisfying, album Together Alone (EMI) reveal much about what has happened to the group in the past 18 months. The luscious opening ballad, Kare Kare, created by the four band members and named after the town on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island where the album was recorded, draws its musical inspiration from the rugged, wave-tossed environment.

Neil Finn's dreamlike vocals are accompanied by a disembodied pedal steel guitar whining tantalisingly over other densely layered guitars, reverberating bass and cymbal-heavy percussion, while Eddie Rayner's airy keyboards hark back to the atmospheric pomp-rock of the Moody Blues and Pink Floyd.