After two wobbly efforts, Coxon's third and fourth solo albums saw him emerge as an unlikely heir to the Syd Barrett/Nick Drake lineage of fragile folk eccentrics. Happiness In Magazines has its poignant moments, but otherwise this is Coffee And TV: The Album—exactly the kind of perky, hook-heavy riff-fest Blur diehards always hoped he'd muster. Spiritually, Coxon may not have budged from the safety of Camden but, in the hands of former Blur producer Stephen Street, the album's Cockney Rebel swagger and apparent homages to The Skids and Billy Childish make it his most accessible work since Parklife.
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Lionel Colaci
BC
BC
Happiness in Magazines?
After making such a big stink about Blur being a pop band, and wanting to them to be more like Missions of Burma, the amazing talented Graham Coxon gives us this? It sounds alot like Blur's self titled album, which is not a bad thing, but not necessarily a good thing either. Maybe I am justed pissed off that, as I live in Vancouver, Canada, I had to buy "Happiness in Magazines" at the local Virgin Megastore, which after taxes ended up costing $35.00. I hope that Transcopic Records get that money, and not just Richard Branson.
