Ex-Almighty man and sometime Dublin resident (he now spends most of his time in LA) Warwick has an impressive pedigree. Apart from his time with the Scottish punk-metallers, he’s played with New Model Army and even guested with his earliest inspiration, Stiff Little Fingers. But his first solo album, Tattoos And Alibis, saw him move away from his hard-rock roots to a pretty convincing American country-rock sound. Judging by this arguably much stronger follow-up, that’s where his future lies.
With pal Joe Elliot co-producing, Love Many, Trust Few boasts a higher than average quotient of well-turned out songs, meticulously performed by the Newtonards man.
Perfect fare for American radio tastes, a song like ‘New Neighbours Old Fences’, about the religious divide in Northern Ireland, is as good as anything Keith Urban has done. With a strong bluegrass feel, ‘Rich Kids’ wouldn’t sound out of place on a Dixie Chicks album while ‘Sometimes Even Losers’ isn’t a million miles away from early Steve Earle. There are some surprises – three of the country-rock ballads ‘Learning To Fall’, ‘Guilty’ and ‘Going Under Over You’ were co-written with fellow Northern Irelander Kieran Goss, as was the Tom Petty-ish rocker ‘Even Now’ which features another unlikely guest, Simon Carmody, on vocals.
It’s not all country style balladry, and Warwick can still rock out impressively when he feels the need. ‘Johnny or Elvis’ the opener – which at time recalls The Eagles‘ Already Gone’ – and the steaming ‘Anyone Want To Waste Some Time’ both pull their weight, though there’s no getting away from the fact that his voice at times sounds a tad too much like Bryan Adams for comfort.