Suicaine Gratification

Suicaine Gratification treats us to the sound of an older and maybe even wiser Paul Westerberg. Coming across somewhere between the two Toms, Petty and Waits, it's one of his finest collections of songs to date.

'It's A Wonderful Lie' is quite possibly the best song he has ever written and is as strong an album opener as this reviewer has heard in some time. A wonderfully catchy hangdog anthem, it has Westerberg pondering the vagaries of age with his sense of humour intact. "I'm past my prime or was that just a pose?" he wonders, before admitting, "It's a wonderful lie, I still get by on those".

'Self Defense' is a lyrically astute piano ballad, which comes to a devastatingly powerful, if gently delivered, crescendo, with Westerberg whispering, "It's wrong to commit a suicide/ It's only in self defense". Similarly, 'Born For Me' is a beautiful song, where Paul is joined by Shawn Colvin on vocal duties as they tell the tale of "when the loneliest eyes and the emptiest arms finally decide to meet".

The album doesn't work as well on the more uptempo tracks, like 'Tears Rolling Up Our Sleeves' or the overlong 'Fugitive Kind', which come across as undistinguishable midtempo American geetar rawk. Also, the closing 'extra' track, would have been better omitted as it adds nothing of worth to what is otherwise a fine album.

However, when he slows it down, Westerberg proves that he is a fine lyricist and an accomplished singer, even if he does have a touch too much of the Bob Dylans betimes. But tracks like 'Sunrise Always Listens' or the wonderful 'Bookmark', along with those mentioned earlier, show a more mature songwriter who has more than got to grips with his craft.