Thanks to the efforts of notable characters such as Vernon Kay and Peter Kay, satellite Manchester town Bolton has recently planted its' flag on the comedic mountain top, but has remained conspicuously quiet in terms of musical contention.
So it's about time someone had a stab at correcting this situation on a wider scale. Enter ROB McCULLOCH: a talanted young chappie with his first album "Thoughts Alone", a burgeoning local following and advance reports of glowing notices from industry showcases such as Manchester's In The City and Texas's South By South West.
Actually, from what I can gather - and the fact that this CD comes direct from Rob's website (www.robmcculloch.com ) rather than via a 'label' as such - this version of "Thoughts Alone" is due to be remastered for wider release later this year, so it will probably be subjected to further tweaking before it gets a general release. On the basis of the contents as they stand, that would be welcome in some cases and dubious in others.
Opening tracks "Let It Go" and "Taking Off With You" give you a pretty good idea what to expect from McCulloch's muse. The former shoots into life via strafe-ing guitars and soon begins to resemble a young cousin of The Stone Roses and The Verve (complete with a Squire/ McCabe hybrid wah-wah guitar solo), while "Taking Off With You" edges ever closer to "Urban Hymns" territory with its' fulsome, string-drenched intro and a soaring chorus a la "Sonnet."
And therein lie the strengths and weaknesses of "Thoughts Alone" in a wider sense. Both the aforementioned are actually pretty good, but while Rob McCulloch has designs on the lineage begun by The Stone Roses and continued by Ashcroft's mob, there are times when he buys into it wholesale. And when he does, he sacrifices whatever individuality he had to begin with.
If you don't believe me, then skip swiftly to tracks like "Take Me Whole", "Be Free" and "Hard To Breathe". "Take Me Whole"s weatherbeaten urban pop-blues is cloyingly sentimental and might as well xerox Richard Ashcroft's voice, such is the uncomfortable similarity. "Be Free", by contrast, makes big, thrusting guitar noises and tries (and fails) to muscle into Oasis territory, while "Hard To Breathe" is the inevitable piano ballad with birdsong and other noises off hovering incongruously in the background as it struggles to snag onto your attention.
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Yet regardless of these shortcomings, "Thoughts Alone" also breeds germs of greatness in several places. "Doing You Wrong" is the first one that really puts a smile on your face. It's a real beaut, with the strings reutrning and a lovely country-influenced guitar break that really should be more prominent in the mix. The pretty and folksy "Beauty Inside" is the second glimpse of great songwriting prowess, with nods to the Beatles at their more whimsical and a nice use of flute, while "So Many Colours" is a perky rock-pop affair and a quintessential British pop single with more of that delicious country-style lead guitar lurking around having a fag.
It's only a shame that the clueless, "Questions In Disguise" follows it to the chequered flag. This one is very much a case of everything but the kitchen sink with its' relentless Stooges riffing, Traffic-style flute interjections and another dollop of strings for good measure. Pretty it ain't and the kindest thing would be to leave it on the out-takes floor.
It's a shame, then, that you come away from this vesion of "Thoughts Alone" with a mildly nasty taste in your mouth because of this and Rob McCulloch's occasionally unnecessary desire to slip into clothes bearing his heroes' insignias brazenly on their sleeves. He undoubtedly has the talent, but -several tantalising slivers aside - "Thoughts Alone" has significant room for improvement as things stand.
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