Graham Coxon

The Sky Is Too High

Unblurred and sharper Bored by the pop life and feeling their recent music to be shallow, Blur guitarist Coxon wanted to move into more left field rock. The Great Escape was an album that pushed Coxon close to the edge. The battle with Oasis and the sexist video for Country House disgusted him. This together with his recently imposed teetotalism saw him noodling his own songs in his house. Acoustic guitar and voice drove a simpler style and produced the lovely guitar figure from Tender. It also produced an amazing collection of modern folk tunes.

When I first bought the album and put it on, it was like coming home. I felt I had always owned this album. Eleven old friends were calling me. As soon as it had finished it had to go on again and again. The reviews had namechecked two of my heroes, Syd Barrett and Nick Drake, and this lived up to those names with ease.

The soft almost apologetic voice and his state of mind created a laid back mood that makes a great record. By adding in some classic Coxon electric guitar on top of some of the songs he creates a more up to date sound that is not constrained by today. It is timeless music that will be a future cult album. R U Lonely and A Day Is Far Too Long are heartbreaking and the Nick Drake name dropping I Wish is a classic. The whole album is short and leaves you gagging for more. It means far more to me than any Blur album and I can't wait for a follow up.