Cole might live in New York City these days but on his eighth solo CD, the once-brooding Brit has come up with a record that’s the aural equivalent of a stroll through the London drizzle.
The mood is overcast yet strangely refreshing as he sings about growing older and (maybe) wiser.
On “Woman in a Bar,” the album’s most telling number, he reports that he’s “No longer angry/No longer young/ No longer driven to distraction/ Not even by Scarlett Johansson/ A few moving parts need to be replaced / My engine starts/ But only on Tuesdays.”
Lightly brushed drums, spare keyboards and the occasional splash of strings provide a perfect backdrop for Cole’s damp musings. On the title song, the former Commotion insists that “with my medication, I will be fine.”
Sure, he might occasionally self-medicate but on Antidepressant, Cole sounds as right as rain.
Publication: Merge, Allentown Morning Call
Publication date: 30/04/07