Graham Coxon - Crow Sit On Blood Tree
Reviewed by Q, August 2001

Despite Blur's penchant for musical experimentation, each of Graham Coxon's solo albums suggests he's as frustrated with the day job as Mel C was with hers. Crow Sit On Blood Tree is a bizarre, schizophrenic, and determinedly unmelodic record that lurches drunkenly from the cascading fury of Burn It Down to the acoustic I'm Goin' Away, in which he sounds like an acid casualty from the original Woodstock. Never a great singer, he makes up for his weedy delivery with bucketloads of eccentric charm. These songs have a ramshackle, unsteady feel to them, Coxon painting a surreal world in which punk and folk dress down to sing the blues. Blur fans need not strictly apply, but there's an open vulnerability here that's hard to dislike.

Standout Tracks: Empty Word, I'm Goin' Away, All Has Gone

 (3/5)                                                                                          Nick Duerden