Ian Brown, Music of the Spheres Reviews

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Good Points: Brimming with atmosphere
Polished
A real grower

Bad Points: Doesn't necessarily grab you on first listen

General comments: Ian Brown, Music of the Spheres - As an old Stone Roses fan I was a bit disillusioned with the initial fare provided by Brown and Squire after the break-up; the Seahorses were going nowhere in particular and Ian Brown's first solo release "My Star" was intriguing but nothing mind-blowing. His first album, "Unfinished Monkey Business", was a very rough done-in-me-bedroom affair (albeit with a couple of absolute corkers), but by the time he released his 3rd album, "Music of the Spheres", Brown had moved up his production levels to near perfection.

Never a great singer, this album plays to his strengths and is a wonderfully atmospheric ride. Major use of synths and general electronica, along with some rather good guitaring, and it's a very different world to traditional indie. But damn good. Some people object to "Hear No, See No" (the sum total of the song's lyrics) but it's definitely one for the headphones in dark room.

I was reasonably pleased the first time I heard it but with every listen it just gets better. I don't have another album quite like it. Marvellous stuff. Buy it.