condition (record/cover): NM / EX+
The follow-up to Safety in Numbers and the third Van Tieghem LP overall, co-produced again with Roma Baran. The palette is lighter than Safety in Numbers: less Fairlight, more song-form, and the surprise of Van Tieghem's own vocal performance on Volcano Diving, an unexpectedly warm Eno-ish art-pop track. Otherwise the record continues Safety in Numbers's integration of acoustic percussion vocabulary (the same kit of struck domestic and industrial objects) with sampler-orchestrated electronic textures.
Larry Saltzman plays guitar on several tracks. The Private Music house aesthetic (slick mid-eighties new-age digital sound, clean post-mastering, transparent stereo image) had by 1989 become a recognisable style, and Strange Cargo sits comfortably in it without surrendering Van Tieghem's percussion-led identity. The album was the last of his Private Music contract.
