Capitol
Pop, 1992

Tasmin Archer exploded onto the scene with Sleeping Satellite, a song so good it briefly convinced the world she was the next big thing. Unfortunately, her Great Expectations turned out to be more Mildly Optimistic Hopes because, despite the promise, she vanished faster than my motivation on a Monday morning.

Listening to the album, it’s easy to see why she didn’t become a household name.

Now, don’t get me wrong; this album isn’t bad. Far from it. However, once you’ve heard Sleeping Satellite, you’ve essentially heard Great Expectations in its entirety, just with different tempos and a light shuffle mode applied. Ms Archer clings to one vocal style with the determination of a cat stuck in a tree, which doesn’t do much to inject variety into the album.

The songs are solid. The hooks are more of a slow burn than an instant earworm. If she was hoping for tunes that would have people rushing to the store (or now, I suppose, rushing to click “Like” on Spotify), well, that’s exactly the problem—no one did.

Still, there are some real gems here. Lords of the New Church is atmospheric, Arienne is compelling, and Steeltown—with its Bruce Springsteen-esque moments—almost makes you want to put on a denim jacket and stare meaningfully into the distance.

The lyrics, though, sometimes teeter on the edge of heavy-handedness. Take In Your Care, a song about child abuse. Tasmin Archer’s raw, powerful vocals are undeniable, but when she belts out that love is all a survivor needs, you can’t help but cringe just a little. It’s an admirable sentiment, sure, but it also feels… painfully naïve, like something you’d hear from a well-meaning motivational speaker at a high school assembly.

In the end, Great Expectations is a solid, if slightly monotonous, debut. It showed potential—potential that was swiftly buried under the cruel indifference of 1990s music execs who had the attention span of a goldfish.

But hey, Ms Archer, if you’re out there, it’s 2025! We have YouTube, SoundCloud, Bandcamp, so come back! The world deserves to hear you again, and maybe we’ll finally get Middling Expectations, the sequel we never knew we needed.