Standing in the Dark
gave
Platinum Blonde
instant stardom in their homeland of Canada, combining hints of
new wave
flair with solid
pop
sturdiness. The twin hits of
"Doesn't Really Matter"
and
"Standing in the Dark"
bombarded radio and music video, both gaining popularity from their cold war messages, their electronic drum usage, and well-constructed choruses. Although these two tracks were the album's best, two others kept
's album sales from dwindling.
"Sad Sad Rain"
exhibited
Mark Holmes
' sincere vocal panache and
"Not in Love"
imitated bands like
Duran Duran
Icehouse
with its elevated, yet primly trimmed, refrain. The album's filler comes in the way of thinly written and performed tracks such as
"Video Disease,"
"Cinderella Story,"
"Leaders in Danger,"
all strapped by standard, unimaginative keyboard dabbling and watery vocal/guitar interchanges resulting in typical '80s
pablum. But even with these flaws,
still sparks some relatively pleasing formulaic
. Although out of print, as are all of
's albums, the better material can be found on
Seven Year Itch
, a complete-hits package. ~ Mike DeGagne