The album is subdued and overly polished, with a preponderance of thin drum sounds, stock guitar sounds, and uninspired singing from both Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo. That's not to say that they should have released Chain Gang, Pt. 2, but it would have been nice to have retained some of that record's sonic wildness and overall sense of fun and adventure. Plus, none of the songs here come within a mile of the thrilling moments from Chain Gang of Love like "That Great Love Sound," "Heartbreak Stroll," or "The Love Gang." The few songs that stir up some noise, like "Sleepwalking" or "Twilight," do so in a way that is very predictable, and the ballads are lightweight to the point of being completely forgettable. Only a couple of songs make a positive impression (the lilting "Here Comes Mary" and laid-back summer tune "Red Tan"), and even then they would have been the weakest songs on Chain Gang of Love. The biggest nail in the coffin is their flat cover of the Angels' "My Boyfriend's Back" (which was co-written by producer Richard Gottehrer back in the mid-'60s), but there are problems everywhere you look. Overall, the choices that Wagner and Gottherer make regarding the sound of the album strip away the very things that made the band worthwhile and, unlike on Darklands, the songs that remain are not strong enough to carry the weight. A major disappointment to say the least, Pretty in Black is such an indifferent and predictable record that it makes one reconsider the quality of the album that preceded it. Now that is the mark of a bad album.