Lloyd Cole completely passed me by in the 1980s. I'd heard of him but for some reason decided he was one of these pop stars who had nothing to offer me, so it wasn't until Spotify started forcing him on to me that I started to take notice.
And for a couple of quid on EBay, the CDs are readily available, so I thought I'd start with this, their debut album.
After a couple of listenings, my impressions are pretty favourable. There's nothing groundbreaking, or headturning here, just a series of pleasant pop songs, some with more impact than others. Openers Perfect Skin, Speedboat and Rattlesnakes are lovely - Cole's dry voice and the jangly guitar are a great listen, but much of the rest isn't as strong. Four Flights Up is an upbeat little song, well worth a listen, Patience is a pleasant, gentle song, and Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken ends the original album with a cracking little song.
This CD version also has four B sides as bonus tracks - none awful, but only Andy's Babies stands out as particularly interesting.
All in all, it's a decent enough album, with a few stand out songs and nothing awful. Certainly worth wasting three-quarters of an hour on.
3* - a pretty good debut album, enough to make me curious for more.
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