by Dale Nicholls More like a sonic time capsule than a proper album, Eyedazzler 1992-1996 from Arizona's Alison's Halo, is a collection of recorded output taken from demos, home studio recordings, and live shows. Released in 1998, the CD serves as a chronological case study of the band's development as songwriters and musicians. Comparisons with British dream-popsters Lush are inevitable, but Alison's Halo are quite capable of standing their own ground. Although recorded on four-track machines and basement portastudios, the songs on Eyedazzler 1992-1996 sound majestic. Catherine Cooper's smooth, childlike voice provides the perfect counter to the non-stop bombast of electric guitars, creating a frail balance that is at once intriguing and beautiful, but never awkward. As the album reaches its second half, the tempos get slower and the mood becomes increasingly dark; the seven and a half minute "Slowbleed" begs to be listened to on a rainy Sunday afternoon. With their plush wall of distortion and reverb-drenched vocals, the band sounds like an angry cousin of the Cure, providing goth music for shoegazers.