I’m not well versed in my Graham Coxon solo but this is what I know: Blur was great and the last Graham Coxon solo album, “Happiness In Magazines” bored the shit out of me. It was seemingly a record without a purpose… put out for the sake of doing what he does. Now, I know at least a few people who used words like “brilliant” when it came out, but the emperor has no clothes… Morrissey hasn’t made a good album since “Your Arsenal” and Graham Coxon’s “Happiness In Magazines” is entirely forgettable. No matter how much you want those statements to be false just because of whose name is on the record sleeve sometimes those we want to like will disappoint us.
Earlier this week, what should arrive on my desk but “Love Travels At Illegal Speeds”. Whereas “Happiness In Magazines” was like eating a rice cake with mayonnaise on it, “Love..” opens with the single “Standing On My Own Again” which isn’t that bad… like a rice cake with peanut butter. The melodies are aggressive and hook filled and it’s not hard to realize that this is the same man who wrote all of those great blur songs from way back when.
After listening to this album 3 times, I couldn’t repeat one line of lyrics back to you. Maybe it’s due to the production work or maybe it’s due to the songwriting itself, but the vocals are almost inconsequential. Obviously, these songs were written to have someone sing over them, but why not have a guest vocalist… say, Damon Albarn? Maybe have Alex James and David Rowntree fleshing out the rhythm section?
Ah fuck it - let’s just say it. This album is good, if not great, mostly because it sounds like a Blur album. It’s got teeth and sharp corners on one tracks, then soft skipping-in-the-meadow dripping with sugar on the next track and so many hooks it’s like a pirate convention. An immediate listen doesn’t yield much of a reaction beyond “That was nice.” - but I know myself and I can hear when an album will grow on me like a fungus. This time next year, it’ll be among my favorites.
7/10 (9 of 10 if he’d just made this album with blur)
3 Comments »
I enjoyed Happiness In Magaziness, mostly for its dorkiness. My friend Alex brought it back for me after a trip to the UK and we had a great deal of fun driving around town and giggling over “Bittersweet Misery”.
I’d pay serious money to see Graham Coxon skipping in a meadow.
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Comment by amber — November 22, 2006 @ 2:25 pm
“and so many hooks it’s like a pirate convention”
that is like the best thing i’ve heard anyone say in WEEKS, dude. awesome.