Although their second album 'Cedars' had its fair share of great moments, it also seemed like the work of band members who weren't quite on the same wavelength. In particular, frontman Jason Pegg seemed to have an ambition which wasn't quite reined in enough by his cohorts. 'Amber' corrects this and is a much more streamlined, cohesive affair where everyone appears to be singing from the same hymnsheet. Nevertheless, followers of Gene will be interested to learn that Clearlake still sound a lot like them. Clearlake tend to stick to a medium to fast pace on their songs but break the flow with a couple of sterling ballads like the twinkling 'Dreamt That You Died' and the title track. However, their best work is when they turn up the aggression as on 'Neon' and 'Here To Learn' which emulate the riffs of Led Zeppelin and Depeche Mode's 'Personal Jesus' respectively. Another likeable album, then, but Clearlake still need to develop their own individual sound.