As the front man for Catherine Wheel, Rob Dickinson built a strong following during the '90s alterna-rock peak. Although they spent most of their career criminally underrated, Catherine Wheel built a strong following of fans and garnered a few mild radio hits. Now Rob is out on his own, and the reissue of his solo debut, Fresh Wine For The Horses, gives opportunity to reevaluate this rock talent.
Fresh Wine For The Horses delivers a mixed bag and unfortunately might not be what long-time Catherine Wheel fans would expect or hope for. The disc starts off with "My Name Is Love," which although catchy as you please, comes off as a touch saccharine-sweet for the once dour lyricist. It's far from a bad track, but it's a signal that he's not entirely picking up where he left off.
The album progresses with results that largely vary from decent to bad. On the pop end, we have tracks such as "My Name Is Love," "Intelligent People," and "Oceans," all delivering watered-down versions of older Catherine Wheel-style songs. They sound a bit too radio-friendly, or as if they aspire to be, which is an oddly uncomfortable feeling. Likewise, the new song on the reissue, "The End Of The World" comes off as an obvious attempt to be played during the end credits of some big-budget tear jerker. Again, it's certainly not a bad track, if evaluated in a vacuum, but here it comes off as schmaltzy and a bit forced.
On the bad end of the spectrum are some songs that just don't work. "Bathe Away" sounds like Rob is trying to channel someone else's failed alt-'90s sound, with chuggingly crunchy guitars and lack of dynamics. "Bad Beauty" is a mild trip to nowhere. "The Night" is also a pop track, but just largely lies there, missing some of the spark of the aforementioned radio songs.
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