Savage Garden: Affirmation : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Australian pop duo savage Garden scored international multiplatinum success with their hit-packed debut ("I Want You," "Truly Madly Deeply") as singer Darren Hayes' marriage collapsed. Coming after that career breakthrough and personal loss, Affirmation strikes an uneasy balance between sunny pop and dusky emotional truths. Megamainstream producer Walter Afanasieff (Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Michael Bolton) sweetens a set of mostly sad, soul-searching songs. Although Afanasieff's all-American production gloss is often at odds with the duo's New Wave essence, Hayes' wounded tenor and Daniel Jones' poptastic tunes kick boy-band butt when they're not trying to kiss it. The current single, "I Knew I Loved You," clones 98 Degrees' tepid turds, yet galloping rockers like "The Best Thing" and "Chained to You" still pack a cherry-cola buzz, and the numerous melancholic ballads ache with melodramatic bliss. Moral: Tears should never be feared. (RS 827)

BARRY WALTERS