Unless I had just told you so, you’d never know that this was a debut album. Where most fall just short of the mark, with lots of fascinating ideas, nice tunes, but no sense of conceptual unity to make both streams work, this is an excellent and earthy 40-plus minutes of wry humour, whisky-stained vocals and heartfelt musicianship. It recalls Tunnel Of Love-era Bruce Springsteen in sound, an intimate, quiet, rumbling of the guts and the heart, suggesting feelings which have been long brewing and have only now made it into song form, when they are ready to be heard. Pope’s own voice has a very Van Morrison-sequel feel, telling tales of a life well-lived, if not always happy. He’s got that same warm and friendly quality as Monsieur VM, singing simple lyrics about how he feels and why he’s come to feel that way. An audience awaits him and, if there’s any justice, it’ll be a big one.
