Into the Hive (Promo)- The Offering (2008) - Spidersweb

Th 4-track promo album from this Cambridge based, keyboard baseed and female fronted melodic band. I love the astonishingly beautiful female vocals indeed. This certainly adds a very sweet and haunting feminine feel to the songs. The 4 songs are great samples of a band with a gentle touch; it's very easy too listen to, but not so easy to sing along to . It does, however, offer good gothic background music for a club.

Luna - The Offering (2007) - Bubblegumslut Magazine

The third single from electro goth act the Offering's forthcoming 'Into the Hive' album to appear on iTunes. 'Luna' sets a paranoid pace, with a dense, squelching bass line completing the skittish rhythm section. Kara's ambient wailings are on this occasion off-set with some whispered male vocals, all boding well for the full length when they finally finish it!.

48 Hours in Tokyo - The Offering (2007) - Bubblegumslut Magazine

A chilled effort now from Cambridge electro-rock set the Offering. '48 Hours in Tokyo' positively glides on understated, subtley hypnotic synths and the breathy seductive voice of one time Clandestined vocalist Kara Sultan. The overall sound is somewhere between Depeche Mode's suave electro anthems and the kooky charm of Kate Bush or even early Bjork. B-sides come care of remix outfits as far flung as Istanbul and Verona and though I'm not generally a great fan of remixes to fill up single space in place of some proper spanking new songs these do offer some interesting new takes on the lead track. Nice one indeed.

Illyria- The Offering (1999) - Nightwaves

Last year I was delighted to get in contact with a very creative and brilliant young man from Cambridge, England by the name of Mark Sheppard. I came to learn that this musician was involved with a group called The Offering. In time I would realize that the music of The Offering is dense, well crafted, atmospheric and highly evocative. These are not merely songs that tell a clear cut story, nor do they follow any safe formula. This is the sound of dark country roads on a moonlit night, the sound of ghosts walking along a forgotten shore, the sound of wind blowing through black curtains. The music is dark, mysterious and sensual. Illyria was released in 1999 and features some of the earliest work by the band. Alive brings to mind the work of Kate Bush. How Far continues this sound, with dreamy female vocals and deft guitar playing. The beats are irresistible, and the music is resonantly good. My Love reminds me of the Disintegration album by The Cure. This is music tailor made for fans of Depeche Mode's &Black Celebration. Excellent.

Three Broken Threads- The Offering (2001) - Nightwaves

The guitar playing on the track An Angel Who Fell is pure rock and roll. Like other outings by The Offering, this is music that is as black as silk, and a pure joy to listen to. Percolating synth sequences are married to cutting beats and firey guitars. The band must also be commended for the fact that they stress suggestion over statement. Rather than employing lyrics that are easily accessible, the words used by The Offering are ambiguous and open to interpretation. Evca saunters along with a sultry sway, it is a lush soundscape full of sumptuous layers. Tears and Chocolate introduces the listener to Mark's mysterious and dark vocal stylings, which goes along perfectly with the female vocals.

Light In The Darkness- The Offering (2003) - Nightwaves

This mini album by The Offering includes a somewhat upbeat and bouncy track, Chameleon. The overall feel and mood of the album is still rather dark, yet there seems to be more percolating melodies and a general playful air that is infectious. Nataline is another light, breezy song with plenty of nice acoustic guitar riffs and airy synth chords. Dreams of the Red Chamber brings to mind classic 80s bands like Cocteau Twins and The Smiths. It is full of emotion. Ephemeral starts with a dark edge, yet eventually morphs into a pretty number replete with pizzicato strings. Fans of artists such as Kate Bush and The Cure will love this.

The Particle Garden- The Offering (2004) - Nightwaves

Big Bubbles is an odd, loopy track that floats through the air like ether. Mark's voice is pleading and enigmatic. This is the sound of an indecipherable dream. By this point, it seems that The Offering's overall sound had become considerably more mellow and introverted, especially compared to early works like Illyria. Rather than the electric guitar being right up front in the mix, it has become much more complimentary (and much less aggressive sounding). In this album, Mark sounds like a mad scientist, concocting his brilliant opuses in a dark studio overlooking the sea. Electroshock has traces of Nine Inch Nails, it plods along like a great evil monster lurking in the dark. Join The Dots is gleefully insane, while Petroleum features a great, stuttering beat. It is clear that The Offering is not content to just fall back on safe rhythms that have all ready been used by a million other bands. The female vocals that were such a part of previous discs are definitely absent from the mix, yet Mark's voice is captivating enough to more than compensate. This album exhibits real growth for The Offering.

Monsters and Angels- The Offering (2006) - Nightwaves

The latest effort by The Offering makes reference to their past sound, yet also improves upon it. The production is even better (which is no small feat, since production on prior efforts were excellent to begin with). Things get started with a great opening track called Killing Time which is loaded with crunchy guitar sounds, Mark's slightly eerie vocals and plenty of heavily processed electronic sounds. Golgotha Falls is a beautifully sumptuous track that casually moves along at its own pace. Shadowlands is a wonderfully warped track with grunting horn sounds. When I Sleep commences with a very evocative intro that sounds like something from a Tim Burton film. It perfectly suits the theme and feel of dreams that often punctuates The Offering's work. When The Earth Met The Sky is a brilliant closing track, it is full of sitar like sounds and a slightly psychedelic flavour. Make no doubt, The Offering is a gifted band that consistently just keeps getting better and better.

Retrospective- The Offering (2007) - Nightwaves

This is a fine collection of The Offering's work, dating from 1999 to 2006. Many of their best tracks are offered, including Nataline, Pray For An Angel and When The Earth Met The Sky. One could refer to this collection as a good summation, and also an excellent document of the progression of a great band. The album cover artwork is very well done, and overall the packaging is stylish and uncluttered. If you haven't all ready discovered The Offering, this album is an excellent introduction and overview of their work up to the present day. Do yourself a favour and check out their entire catalogue. Fans of Depeche Mode, NIN, and The Cure will not be disappointed.

Monsters and Angels - DSide

The English band The Offering plays an electro music with dark features, following the best British tradition. Their last CD, 'Monsters and Angels' is mostly dealing with the electronic aspect, and it’s full of cold, sharp sounds, far from modern EBM, much closer to the Eighties’s electro style. A sound which is actually a perfect soundtrack for some kind of nightmarish visions, and not to be the next dancefloor hit (which is not so negative).  The 13 tracks from 'Monsters and Angels' can be sometimes repetitive, but present a good co-operation between a male and a female voice: Mark Sheppard’s (also playing all the instruments), and Maria Coppola’s or Heather Brooks’, singing together, as in 'Golgotha Falls' (a track with a deep atmosphere, sometimes morbid, sometimes very Eighties-like) , more often as solo voices.

 The best episodes remain 'Damage Limitation' and 'Shadowlands', balanced, obscure and dream-like. 'When I sleep' has a Lynchian beginning and ends up resembling Smashing Pumpkins so much. Ballads like 'Low Town' are quite interesting, but would really need a more powerful vocal to enter one’s heart. All together a good CD. We could suggest a better choice of tracks, with less songs but more variety, while trying to give also more importance and power to the voice. Still, among the electro scum everybody seems able to play nowadays, The Offerings are professional and able to get better.

If you don’t want to go out from you usual music tastes, but you’re not afraid to listen to new bands.

Three Broken Threads - Morbid Outlook May 2005 Review

Track Listing: Evca, An Angel Who Fell, Tears and Chocolate, The Scene of My Crime, Carol Came.

Flower on the razor wire? Dreamy, sirensong female vocal ensconced in grinding, slicing, well played dronerock guitar/drums/bass... very nice effect. How about a slow, melodic, eminently gothish male/female duet? This band does that well too, followed by a fine piece featuring some very healthy guitar licks, and ending with a song that is more like...well, a song. Quite a worthy offering... haha, pun intended.

Alex of Shadowsire Webzine

After Three Broken Treads, the new CD Light In The Darkness is now out by the Cambridge trio The Offering, which is Electronic Gothic Rock and still masters the high art, to let people in these dark days travel through even darker valleys.
The journey starts electronic, letting soft distorted sounds dive in dark regions from which singer Heather is telling. It proceeds with small journeys in the electro area, which are integrated very subtly in order to not disturb at all. Heather's voice is also very nice to listen to, underlined by soft guitars and expressing the gentle but impressive sadness of desperation. The style reminds me a little bit of the The Mission, especially at the beginning of Ephemeral - I can see some parallels - except that Wayne Hussey can't sing like an angel! The song radiates huge quiteness, but is never boring. Vampyrrhic is a little bit more rocky, powerful and stirring, and supported by strong keyboard sounds. Here Heather is supported for the first time by whispered male vocals and the oriental-inspired keyboard reminds me at the kanadier of The Tea Party or even by The Mission again at the times of the Aura. Dreams Of The Red Chamber has a bit of an 80 gothic rock feel, supported by fantastic guitar and - in contrast to the ones before - really good to dance to. Super! The last song, Chameleon starts with a fast jam, guitar and drum machine flowing though the track but over all - like in all the songs - is the wonderful voice of Heather, which gives the pieces a very special touch. In any case, the CD is recommended for anyone that likes well-done gothic rock with gentle influence of electronic. Some of the songs are available on the bands homepage for mp3 download or in the band's own shop for sale.

Light in the Darkness - Phoenix of Devolution Magazine Issue 3

The three piece bill themselves as Heather Brooks providing ethereal vocals. Gary Bailey giving them the bete noir sound with his weird electronic soundscapes and Mark Sheppard providing the guitar and programming to create the finely crafted ethereal Goth sound of the Offering. To me they sound a lot like that collaboration of Enigma and Enya, you know the one, Return to Innocence. The whole thing is trancey floaty synth sounds, a soft feminine voice and gentle acoustic guitars, great for six am after club chillout sessions but is it Goth? The jury is out on that. You decide.

Light in the Darkness/ Three Broken Threads Bubblegum Slut Issue 18

Cambridge’s The Offering trade in a similar strand of ethereal female-fronted Goth to ‘Slut favourites Mothburner or fellow scenesters Excession. The main pitfall with such a sound is that ‘haunting’ can all too often become merely dull as, save for a few more promising moments 2001’s shakey debut ‘3 Broken Threads’ proves. Two years on and 2003’s Light in the Darkness is a vast improvement with Heather Brooks apparently having grown more confident as a vocalist, leading as the focal point of each track, amid some sparkling keys and deliciously atmospheric guitarwork from bandmates Gary Bailey and Mark Sheppard respectively. That said its not entirely clear where Heather is leading as the song structures are at times prone to meander with little well … structure. Nevertheless they’ve got the overall sound now, and if two years can do this who knows how we may see their writing tighten up on release # 3.