The “post a review” thing was too baffling for me to cope with, so here it is.
I was a little – what’s the word? – trepidatious? coming to this. Steve – I call him Steve – hasn’t really been on songwriting form for a while. But this is possibly his best solo album, like, ever. Colour me astonished, really. We’ve exchanged emails about it – I am Friend To The Stars – and he’s chuffed with it (as much as he can be – he’s the driest, slyest bloke I ever talked to), as he should be. Because songs. Not the usual mid-paced semi-ambient monotone stuff I was expecting. I think the democratic composition technique in the Church had led to songs-by-numbers. Here, he shows what he can do, and what he can still do. I was also concerned – that’s the word I was looking for – that this was going to be an *ulp* “lo-fi” production, which it ain’t. Everything was done in a couple or three takes, and there’s an energy here I haven’t heard from him for decades. But it’s not a punk album, it’s beautifully produced without being polished to a gleaming shine.
