1001 Albums Summary

Vocals strong, lyrics sharp, music often struggles to keep up (first half sounds a bit Topshop wallpaper in places). Second half (from track 7 onwards) uniformly excellent. Wears influences on sleeve, to good effect, only rarely slips into pastiche. Postscript: hidden tracks ‘Brother’ and ‘Mr Magic’ too good to be tucked away at the end; should have been given more prominence. 6.5/10