Come in and sit down, Billy Bragg, the Bard from Barking, Essex, is putting the kettle on...

With his hand on his heart and his finger on the pulse, Billy Bragg is a real rough diamond and a welcome threat in pop's rich tapestry.

Though his political feelings/sentiments are well renowned (he has probably played more benefit gigs than anybody else) it's his bitter-sweet songs of love's strange ways that more often tug on the heartstrings. Here be universal stories of relationships, starting up, falling apart and trying again.

'A Lover Sings' is a truly heartfelt song about the bumpy path of sexual and emotional discovery that may or may not end in love. 'St. Swithin's Day' and 'The Saturday Boy' are tender reflections on the experiences of unrequited love with lines like: *It took me a dictionary to find out the meaning of unrequited/while she was giving herself free at a party to which I wasn't invited*. The melancholia of Dave Woodhead's trumpet solo emphasised the loss.

His political songs are no less personal than the love ones 'Island Of No Return' is the soul brother song to Costello's 'Shipbuilding'. 'It Says Here' points the finger at the hypocrisy of the street of shame where *Politics is mixed with bingo ad tits* while 'Like Soldiers Do' is the result of a brief encounter with the armed forces, depicting the narrowmindedness and rigidity of army life.

All in all within the grooves of this album beats a heart of gold that is ruled most definitely by the head. A rare one indeed...