Equally Cursed And Blessed

The most remarkable aspect of Catatonia's success is that they articulate that rarest of values amongst the pop clamour: common decency. The warmth transmitted through this quintet's songs makes breakfast radio almost digestible.

However, as much as the blokes contribute heavyweight writing credits and sturdy musical settings, it's Cerys Matthews who has assumed the status of wartime sweetheart in Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales, not just through dint of voluptuous charm, but an irresistible singing voice.

But then Matthews also tackles subjects close to the hearts of the everyman - the futility of counseling ('Postscript'); the joy of catharsis in even its tackiest forms ('Karaoke Queen'); the unbearable weight of mundanity. As a result, Equally Cursed . . . is a far more coherent lyrical statement than its predecessor.

So, once the lovely Nelson Riddle-like shimmer of the vanguard single 'Dead From The Waist Down'("like in Califor-ni-ay") is out of the way, the remaining first third of the album showcases some almost-great songs; a little word-heavy and overlong perhaps, but delivered with guts and imagination.

Consider 'Londinium', in which our heroine voices the pride of the oik who has been to the metropolis, felt intimidated, then realised there's no sin in hating the big shitty. Elsewhere, in the tragi-comedy of 'Bulimic Beats' (Cerys scouring the kitchen, plotting "custard's last stand"!), she sounds for all the world like Ursula Burns doing 'Lilac Wine' - this is the weary wisdom of a woman who has at last found a home in her own skin after a history of binge and purge sessions.

And if the prevailing mood is more plaintive than International Velvet or Way Beyond Blue, there are plenty of interesting detours. Like, for instance, the galvanising rabble-cry of 'Storm The Palace', and most tantalising of all, 'Shoot The Messenger', where Cerys straps on Lotte Lenya's corset and rewrites Weimar-winebar routines to suit her growing pains ("I felt myself become a bitter old shrew").

So, while the newfound predilection for balladry can get a little ponderous at times, there isn't a track here that doesn't reflect how much Matthews loves the act of singing (remember the steamy and steaming duet with Tom Jones on Jools Holland's Hootenany?). On that level, both the aching 'Valarian Unwanted' and the triumphant last moments of 'Dazed, Beautiful And Bruised' constitute career-highs.

Equally Cursed And Blessed finds Catatonia consolidating strong, and learning a few new licks into the bargain. It ain't folk music, people, it's people music.