Tin Machine II Tin Machine are crap: discuss. That appeared to be the grim poser that rock's examining board were forwarding for extra-curricular speculation at the time of the band's first LP. And, if sales are anything to go by, the jury returned with a resounding affirmative. Sad to report then that this, the second instalment in the noisy quartet's career, doesn't quite match up to their wonderfully overwraught but sadly underbought debut. Although that big, brutal sound is still there in essence, it's been refined and tenderised. In its defence, "If There Is Something", "You Belong In Rock 'N' Roll" and "Shopping For Girls" hold thier own and throughout "Stateside", Reeves Gabrels continues to strangle his stratocaster like a man who's just been told he has four minutes 31 seconds to live. But for the most part it's frustratingly unmemorable and electrifying crackle of their first LP has been all but neutrtalised. ***

On their second album, Tin Machine streamlined their approach somewhat, trading the occasional noisy guitar flourish for a cleaner, more conventional lead line. However, that doesn't mean the group has abandoned the plodding dissonance that distinguished their debut -- they've just made it more accessible. And that doesn't mean they've written better songs. Nothing on Tin Machine II compares with the highlights of the debut -- it sounds like a collection of outtakes. It's not surprising that David Bowie chose to resume his solo career after the release of this collection.