Chris Brokaw - 'Incredible Love' (Rock Action/Southpaw) Released 30/01/06

As indie rock credentials go, Chris Brokaw's CV is beyond reproach. Guitarist with celebrated US guitar-manglers Come, drummer with seminal 'slowcore' pioneers Codeine, key component of ex-Lemonhead Evan Dando's tentative comeback efforts and contributor to albums by, among others, Steve Wynn and Willard Grant Conspiracy are all featured on his résumé further padded by two acclaimed if obscure solo albums.  

Frequently sizzling with electricity and not shy of rocking out, even if Brokaw mans most of the instruments, 'Incredible Love' is something of a departure from the largely stripped-down settings of Brokaw's previous solo output. Things get off to a promisingly stark, no-frills start with the loping gait of 'Blues for The Moon' and the raspy, raw riffage of 'Move', both of which resemble more concise and captivating takes on the haphazard jams Neil Young indulged in interminably on the half-assed Greendale, but the album's most frustrating weakness, lack of focus, soon rears its fuzzy head. The rhythmically dexterous 'Information Age' almost survives a terminal bout of meandering, but the atmospheric, airborne lament 'X's for Eyes', slightly reminiscent of the criminally underrated Nick Harper, is less fortunate, and when Brokaw starts humming to himself at one point towards the end you can't help thinking that he has just as little idea where this is heading to as the listener.

Elsewhere, the semi-instrumental 'Whose Blood' gallops nowhere particularly interesting astride a boisterous boom-chicka-boom rhythm and both 'On A Great Lake' and '100 Faces' have terrible trouble with the ignition.

It's not all this aimless, though. 'I Remember' is a potent, rattling cover of a Suicide drone-fest, 'My Idea', Brokaw's take on a tune he co-wrote for Dando's 'Baby I'm Bored' album, is an affecting account of break-up fallout and the instrumental 'Gringa' showcases his virtuoso versatility on the six-string department. The pick of the bunch, however, is 'Cranberries', a gutsy rocker boosted by some electrifying fretboard fireworks. If only the proceedings were this spirited and determined throughout the album, which admittedly improves with repeated listens. Some listeners, unfortunately, might not get past the indifferent shrug 'Incredible Love' initially inspires.