As well as being voted joint best album of 1997 by the readers of uk.people.gothic, "A Closer Communion" has been received with considerable critical acclaim. We have reproduced a number of these reviews below.

BRV Magazine, Issue 21:

"... on first listen to this CD, I was well impressed. They reminded me of a great many bands (all good!) but I couldn’t think of a major influence as the band have their own style. The CD features a full 12 tracks that are all worth a listen... The music is mostly up-tempo, enough to keep the dancefloor happy, with excellent tempo changes and effects in each track. The vocals have a wide range too, as all three band members take turns in singing... Tracks to look out for include Dies Irae for the Cardiacs influences, Desires Of The Lonely, an excellent dancefloor track, and Gothic People, being a piss-take of Pulp’s Common People. He even sounds like Jarvis Cocker- brilliant stuff!" I have to say there’s not a bad track on this CD and it’s very hard to believe that it’s their first ever release. Recommended... Watch this band- they will be big!"

ADDRESS: Flat 1, 112 St. George's Terrace, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, NE2 2UP, UK.

"Libitina’s sound is a fast moving mix of synth and guitar- safely away from any cliches- and a number of their songs are very danceable. The lyrics are mainly in the gothy problems and dilemmas area and have been promoted in the mix since their demo- a good move. There is a broad range of tunes on this album. "Fragility Of Self", with its pandemonium-inspiring ending is easily one of the best tracks on the album. The song fades off at the end only to return, spiralling chaotically into desperate cries... The band have put on their Rosetta Stone hat and included a good remix of "Painted Whiter Than White" along with the original. Maybe we should look forward to "Painted(yet again)" sometime in the future."

ADDRESS: Somewhere in Edinburgh!

"... they make very good Gothic music... with strong and catchy rhythms. A must for every dark soul!"

ADDRESS: Scythe Organisation, Markt 7, 8730 Oedelem, Belgium.

"..."Esclavitud", segues neatly into the first song, "My Beautiful Sustenance", a finely cracking and menacing number... The rest of the music here ranges from the lively to the laid back, with the odd surprise thrown in for good measure. "The Ephemeral Bed Of Fire" is a good example of this, veering from the slow, perhaps introspective then breaking into a captivating chorus of bitter anguish. Catchy in a curious way, which was nice. Libitina are undoubtedly at their best when the songs are faster like this, the vocals tense and on edge, the beat quickening, coruscating in the background around the guitar and bass... Another track, "Fragility of Self (No Siren Eyes These)" also scores here, building up to a near screeching crescendo of collapse. Of course there is always an exception to a rule and on this CD it is "Dies Irae"- a swift and thumping number, short and brutal in its delivery. On the opposite end of this scale "Epilogue (Non Credo)" is soft and susserant, a variation in mood from the rest of the album. Now, on any album there's always a stand-out track, a song that carries the signature of the band, and Libitina are no exception. What do you get if you cross a rather loose-limbed indie singer, sense of humour and irony intact, with a bunch of, well loose-limbed goths, sense of irony and humour similarly so? The answer is "Gothic People" which is no end of fun, jaunty as the Pulp original but with cracking play on words- "Take some speed and act real cool, revering Eldritch on the wall". Indeed!"

ADDRESS: 39 Hamilton Drive, Flat 4, Hillhead, Glasgow, G12 8DW, UK.

• Aether Sanctum, Australia.

• Dark Velvet, USA.

• Legends Magazine, USA.

• Russian Gothic Project, Russia.

• Underground Society, France.