It took the Dutch band Aemen five years to record a follow up for their 1997 debut album The Day The Angels Cry due to troubles with their management. The new album is called Fooly Dressed and contains fourteen tracks, between 0:27 and 6:58 minutes long. The first couple of tracks on the album are pretty basic. "Another Way" is strongly influenced by Radiohead and Coldplay, "Time" is a duet with Sharon den Adel (Within Temptation) and "Sanctuary Times" is the new single, a major mistake, because this might even be the most boring song on the CD. There is absolutely nothing original, that is why it is best described as corny. After the instrumental "Awakening" things are getting interested. The mysterious atmosphere of the organesque "Ever Followed A Butterfly’s Erratic Flight?", which in my opinion would have made a great single, is great.

Aemen loose the ‘play-safe’ policy and start to experiment more and more. This, in combination with the creation of a certain atmosphere, is probably where the power of Aemen stems from. "Havelock" starts with vocals and piano, which results in a very intense and dramatic song. "Noble Man" is very experimental and builds up quit some tension. The role of Guest musician Lana Lane is disappointing; her part is too marginal. The longest track on the album is "Down". Pondering and emotional music. With this track Aemen take the time to explore their full potential. Great track! In conclusion; after a weak opening, Fooly Dressed develops into a great album full of experimentation and atmosphere. An average rating of eight points, but keep in mind that there are individual songs on this album that rate much higher.