Cactus World News - No Shelter

Some of you lovely people may, or may not, remember when I posted Cactus World News debut album Urban Beaches (if you don’t already have it, get it, Now!). It is, and always will be, a stone cold classic album that seemed to fall through the usual cracks. Having sold a credible 250K copies, toured as special guests of The Cult on 1985’s Love Tour, continued air-play on college radio of the single The Bridge that their future was, rosy.  Unfortunately, not. With a three year wait for new material, CWN became the forgotten, lost, Irish jewel. By 1989 a second, more pop-oriented album was shelved by MCA after two singles failed to draw any further attention. CWN eventually called it a day in 1991. Finally, after being leaked on the internet, No Shelter was released in 2004 by Red Coral; the waiting had ended, but was it was worth the wait? No Shelter is a bit more polished, a bit more over produced and the rawness of the debut is at times, missing in action. But now, today, after almost 33 years it sounds fresh, bright and shiny shiny. Don’t get me wrong, it is no Urban Beaches, but it definitely deserves a shot across your boughs. Just for fun, play No Shelter‘s “Falling Sun” for that annoying collector who claims to own every rare U2 track.

Urban Beaches

Cactus World News wastes no time in making a first impression on its debut album Urban Beaches. The opening track "Worlds Apart" explodes from the speakers with screeching, reverberating guitars, tumbling drums, and fervent vocals. The anthemic chorus and breath-taking energy of "Worlds Apart" will remind listeners of U2's "I Will Follow" in its feel and execution. However, despite similarities to the music of fellow Irish band U2, Urban Beaches is a smart, hypnotically melodic album bristling with youthful exuberance and sparkling musicianship. The impassioned singing of Eoin McEvoy on "Worlds Apart," "In a Whirlpool," "The Promise," and "The Bridge" is contagious; after hearing him bellow "Worlds apart, worlds apart/Closer than I've ever been/To you" a few times, listeners will find themselves mouthing the words or perhaps singing it in the shower. Frank Kearns' driving, electrifying riffs magnify the urgency in McEvoy's voice; nearly every track has thrilling, dramatic guitar playing. Urban Beaches should've been a hit in the U.S.; instead, it became a buried treasure in the cut out bins.