Graham Coxon
The Golden D
Transcopic
Well, lo and behold, the guitarist of Britain’s purveyors of all that is fey, Blur’s Graham Coxon, writes and records an album called The Golden D that’s mostly comprised of noisy punk rock – who’d a’thunk it? Not me, at least. On The Golden D, his second solo effort, Coxon proves adept at crafting songs that, while not entirely his own (i.e., unique), aren’t anywhere near Blur (take that how you will): lots of AmRep-ish fuzz-punk (think Guzzard, Janitor Joe, or Hammerhead), a couple of rockin’ big-beat cuts, a pretty depressing acoustic ballad (“Keep Hope Alive”), a drifting instrumental reminiscent of Regulator Watts (“Lake”), a so-so cover of Mission of Burma’s “That’s When I Reach For My Revolver,” and hell, even a song about pro skater Jamie Thomas (“Jamie Thomas,” duh). At 12 songs, somehow the album renders itself vaguely panoramic and, at the very least, a window into Coxon’s mind, precious as it might’ve once seemed. It’s enjoyable, it’s attention retaining, and, hey, it’s not Blur, so buy the lad a pint.
Transcopic, http://www.transcopic.com
