The Paul Weller-endorsed, choppy Brit-rock boy returns, but is there any staying power beneath the bold sonic bluster?
Following his brash, strutting debut Colour Of The Trap comes this, similarly brash and strutting return.
But where his debut offered a few sharp, infectious and taut songs (Rearrange, Come Closer, Inhaler) it seems our Miles was too busy shopping for winklepickers to get some decent tunes together.
His lyrics feel insincere and half-baked on the title track, the chorus falling back on ‘la-la-las’, leaving the whole song floundering for the conviction it needs.
Unfortunately, it’s a recurring problem that drags the by-numbers piano-and-strings ballad Out Of Control into the mire and makes the fist-pumping but uncomfortably formulaic go-getter Tonight sound like an offcut from an X-Factor also-ran’s first album.
Lightning Seeds’ Ian Broudie injects power and muscle from the production suite, but it only serves to reveal songs too often left wanting.
The glam-stomp of T-Rex echoes through closing track Darkness In Our Hearts, one of the best fuzzed-up selections from an otherwise derivative album.
2 stars
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here