Euros Childs – Chops (Wichita Records)

This is the first solo album by Childs, lead singer of psychedelic turned country-folk combo Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci, who have been ploughing their own delightful furrow for the last 12 years. One hopes that time will be kind to Gorky’s, and in years to come they will be looked back on as one of the great modern British groups, which they surely will continue to be.

However, when someone who has been in a band for a number of years finally releases a solo album, there is a danger that he might have too many ideas to let out, making the album sound like a brainstorming session rather than a coherent piece of work. This has happened with artists such as Stephen Malkmus and Damon Albarn in the past, and Chops suffers from the same habit. This is far from being a bad album, but a number of whimsical interludes - such as the three ‘Stella is a Pigmy’ tracks and ‘Billy the Seagull’ – never develop into full songs, leaving the album sound disjointed.

In spite of this criticism, Childs remains one of the country’s most gifted songwriters, and there are a number of high points on the album – ‘Country Girl’ is a wonderfully upbeat portion of pop, followed by the beautiful melancholy folk of ‘Circus Time’, which is up there with anything he has ever written. Equally great is ‘Surf Rage’, and the chirpiness of ‘Donkey Island’ could make Eeyore grin.

If Chops is to be the first of a number of solo albums, Childs shows enough within it to suggest that there are even greater things to come. If, however, it is simply an exercise to rid himself of some ideas that have being playing in his head, then it very much works on that level. Either way, it is well worth a listen.

Andrew Cleary