Brett Anderson - 'Brett Anderson' (Drowned In Sound) Released 26/03/07

Given the combination of eponymy and Anderson’s stated wish to “rediscover his demon”, it’s obvious much of the subject matter is awash with personal musings, making this at times an overly-wrought collection of songs, hammered by Anderson’s sentiment. Detractors will cry self-pity, but to do so would be ad hominem and would miss the point of the record.

Opener is the moving ‘Love Is Dead’, the debut single which Anderson describes as his greatest work since ‘Trash’. Evidently an artist who sets the bar high, as 'Here Come The Tears' was one of the most underrated releases of 2005. Of that decade-best work, the opening lament: “Nothing ever goes right, nothing really flows in my life” sets the pensive tone of the remaining ten tracks. It is a medium-paced ballad, set against a warming string arrangement, the lyrics of which towards the end breach an ever more aching tone: “No one ever cares if there’s horrors inside my head”.  One only need cast back to Suede’s catalogue to realise the sneer “Plastic people” is lifted from ‘Sadie’.

‘Dust And Rain’ is the only track which leaves balladry behind. Led by the electric guitar, its forceful refrain “I am the dust, you are the rain / I am the needle, you are the vein” is a classic Anderson cliché, harking back to the symbiotic relationship of two people consumed by drug abuse, noted first in ‘New Generation’: “We’d take the pills to find each other”. These are examples of the very few cuts of Britain’s erstwhile ‘Best New Band’ (Mercury prize winners and all) to be found on this record. Of course none of the former glam or pop-fopp trash is there. Nor are the lyrics the sort to whip what’s left of Fleet Street’s culture crews into a punning frenzy not seen since dissecting the sexualism of ‘Animal Nitrate’. The voice retains its characteristic arty whine however, but is much less exaggerated.