Yes, kids, Graham Coxon is back with a sixth solo album, and in this rock fan's opinion, he's better than ever. To start, however, I must be clear on something. I'm a Damon Albarn girl. Always have been, always will be. And where I've followed Albarn's side projects avidly and enthusiastically (hell, I've even got the 101 Reykjavik soundtrack), I haven't been quite as devout when it's come to his bespectacled cohort. I adored 2004's Happiness in Magazines (I think I bought a copies of it for at least half a dozen people for birthdays and Christmas and the like), but I just never got around to getting the first four albums. After this, I'm starting to think it might be time to give them a listen.
Love Travels At Illegal Speeds is pure, unabashed, unadulterated britpop; a good-natured return to what most people consider Blur's golden age fused with earlier punk influences to create an album fun of danceable, energetic, sing-a-long drinking songs.
It opens with a bang with "Standing On My Own Again," far and away my favourite track on the album, wistful and triumphant at the same time, and, I suspect, with no small amount of reference to his former band ("Standing on the shore, watching a ship go down"). Followed by "I Can't Look at Your Skin" (sounds like a polished Buzzcocks), and "Don't Let Your Man Know" (an angrier, sexier turn than we're used to from Coxon about a suspected affair... his answer to "Mr. Brightside"?), the first three tracks are bound to leave you breathless, but the album is not without its ballads. The fourth track, "Just a State of Mind" is a return to what some people are probably more used to from Coxon, a dreamy, pining tune reminiscent of his final work with Blur. Later in the album, "Flights to the Sea (Lovely Rain)" doesn't start out sounding like much, but the honesty with which Coxon sings elevates it and makes it into one of the album's top gems.
The rest of the album veers more towards the opening numbers, however, and that's fine with me. Which is not to say, of course, that they run together (a frequent complaint of mine). Each one has a distinct sound and attitude, each one worth listening to, making for a very solid album. Will it change your world? No. But not every album has to. So grab a pint, turn it up, and fall in love with Graham Coxon all over again. I know I have.
:(
Why doesn't iTunes have this?! :(