Lloyd Cole “Broken Record” (Tapete Records 2010)

I’ve not brought a Lloyd Cole album since…………………..well his first originally released in 1984 - no particular reason just one of those artists that passed me by, despite the fact his début Rattlesnakes is a classic of it’s time and was bestowed with a number of irresistible tunes including Perfect Skin and Forest Fire, then I read a recent review in Uncut and was intrigued that the album review led with “Cole Countries it up” and followed with a favourable write-up, so I thought I’d chance it and get a copy.

Right decision? Absolutely. Straight from the first listen I was hooked with the album and had it on the deck and following me around all week, I picked up a vinyl copy and the single from Tapete Records and both arrived in a couple days costing less including the post and packing than Amazon wanted for the album only. Less expensive is going to be the quest to catch up with Cole’s career between Rattlesnakes and Broken Record, family and friends if your watching……………..

This is not a country record in the classic sense, far from it but the elements are there in some of the instrumentation and arrangements, and it has a certain country pathos – as a the man himself writes in track three The Flipside it possesses a “Gentle Melancholy Feeling”, Cole is joined on the album by Joan Wasser (Joan As Police Woman) and ex-Commotion Blair Cowan, not going to say much more the Uncut review gets it for me but if anyone had told me at the beginning of the year a Lloyd Cole album was going be one of my favourites of the year then I’d have reacted with more than a hint of scepticism – how wrong I would have being –  so if like me you lost touch with Mr Cole back in the day then there’s an extensive bio here.

UK / Europe tour dates.

Got to pick one favourite track from the album which appears with Mr Cole’s approval.

Lloyd Cole – That’s Alright

And just because I love geometric cheekbones.

Lloyd Cole & The Commotions – Perfect Skin