Bernard Butler, Friends & Lovers

Bernard Butler's second solo CD, Friends & Lovers was neither a commercial or critical success. After he left Suede in 1994 he was meant to be indie music's golden boy, the greatest guitarist of his generation, and there was much excitement when he announced he was going to make some solo albums. The first, 1998's rather mediocre People Move On had a couple of decent tracks, but anything good about the record was immediately lost in the quagmire of annoying '70's style guitar noodling, which got tiresome very quickly. Butler is a great guitarist, he doesn't need to show off with 8 minute guitar solo's. He needs to showcase this in his melodies to the same effect he used to use with Suede (and currently uses with The Tears) by doing what he does best - writing captivating guitar lines that act as a second main melody running concurrent to the vocal melody, often challenging and tangling with that melody, and competing for the listener's ear.

The second problem with Butler's foray into solo-dom is his voice. He's got a very high-pitched, squeaky tenor voice which sounds at odds with some of the heavy guitar sounds he uses. He's not a horrible singer, he knows how to invest emotion in his vocals, but he just doesn't have a powerful enough singing voice to be a front-man. He's a good backing singer. If given the odd album track to sing it would not be horrible, but over the course of a record his voice just doesn't quite cut it.

Now to the second album. I was really expecting more of what came on the first. I waited a good 4 years to even bother listening to it when I happened across a couple of tracks online. And they were actually quite good! While still paying homage to his favourite 70's acts, he's cut back on the 70's rock, and instead written a bunch of songs with a lighter, more acoustic feel, even when he's using the electric guitars. These songs recall artists such as Nick Drake and Bert Jansch as much as they do Mick Ronson and Mark Bolan. It makes for a softer sound which suits him better, and it sounds a much more mature album; the songwriting has definitely improved.

Highlights include the rocky, "I'd Do It Again if I Could," the rather touching "Everyone I Know is Falling Apart," and the psychedelic morass of "Has Your Mind Got Away?"

On the whole, this is, surprisingly, a rather good album, which is good to hear, as one wouldn't want the talented Mr. B. Butler to end up in guitar virtuoso no-man's-land like the great Johnny Marr.