Fear and frustration, sorrow and misfortune, trials and tribulations - these are the inspirations for Danny Coughlan who, it's safe to assume, knows what it's like to have loved and lost.
He was born into a large musical Irish family in Croydon, is now based in Bristol and has renamed himself after the 1963 soul classic by Garnet Mimms and the Enchanters.
He describes his ten track debut album as a love letter to the records he grew up with and the title of the opening track effectively sums up his modus operandi : I Cherish The Heartbreak More Than The Love I Lost.
This is a lonely furrow that has been ploughed many times before with the most obvious recent examples in the field being Morrissey and Richard Hawley.
The Spector-esque beats suggest that Coughlan's record collections date back further and surely contains a fair number of Roy Orbison platters.
Videos filmed in the deserted corridors of Bristol Royal Infirmary or with a backdrop of the dreary seaside town further reinforce the melancholy mood.
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Ex Adam & The Ants drummer Merrick (Chris Hughes) co-produced the album with Mark Frith and they have the sense to know that these literate pop songs sound more dramatic with the sparest of arrangements.
With his very Hawley-ish voice, these songs are full of yearning and steeped in blissful heartbreak.
The only song not obviously focussed on tainted love is Veils, a bittersweet reflection of war from the point of view of an outsider - "I have never fired a gun, never laid down my life for anyone".
The final track poses the question What Am I Supposed To Do Without You Now? The answer seems obvious enough; write another album.
Crybaby website
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