Christophers was always more than just another singer-songwriter, if only because of the startling electro production of Faultline's David Kosten on his first two releases. Without Kosten, his third album sounds considerably more orthodox. Here, the emphasis is squarely on Christophers' strange, fallen-choirboy voice and eerie, melancholic songs. His Jeff Buckley-like vocal inflections have become less extreme and the songs less dark: "River Song" and the title track betray a new-found contentment and, despite its title, Christophers sounds positively happy-go-lucky on "Good Day For The Hopeless". It's undeniably beautiful. But those who hoped he might develop that earlier weirdness to become Wolverhampton's answer to Tom Waits will be disappointed.
Christophers was always more than just another singer-songwriter, if only because of the startling electro production of Faultline’s David Kosten on his first two releases. Without Kosten, his third album sounds considerably more orthodox. Here, the emphasis is squarely on Christophers’ strange, fallen-choirboy voice and eerie, melancholic songs. His Jeff Buckley-like vocal inflections have become less extreme and the songs less dark: “River Song” and the title track betray a new-found contentment and, despite its title, Christophers sounds positively happy-go-lucky on “Good Day For The Hopeless”. It’s undeniably beautiful. But those who hoped he might develop that earlier weirdness to become Wolverhampton’s answer to Tom Waits will be disappointed.
