ROB DICKINSON
Fresh Wine for the Horses
Sanctuary
· True story – the first time I heard Coldplay I thought, "Did the guy from Catherine Wheel put out a solo album?"
In the realm of shoegazers, Catherine Wheel always managed to stay under the radar. Aside from the radio success they found with their raging single "Waydown" from Happy Days, the band proved too poppy for hardcore noise fetishists, but too swirling and oblique for a mainstream crowd. So Catherine Wheel toiled away as critical darlings, releasing five lush rock albums that even today testify to the power of massive guitar swells and Rob Dickinson’s lyrical hook. While the band hasn’t been heard from since 2000’s criminally underrated Wishville, Catherine Wheel’s work has been recognized in the mainstream with three albums by fellow Brits Coldplay.
Some might balk when I say you couldn’t have the latter without the former, but one listen to Dickinson’s solo album, Fresh Wine For the Horses, will convince you otherwise. Admittedly such tracks as "The Storm" and "Handsome" have considerably more edge than Coldplay is capable of, but the guitar-heavy pop-rock framework is undeniable. The difference is, while Chris Martin’s lyrics are remarkably inane, Dickinson takes some chances while revisiting the thematic landscape of Catherine Wheel. Some of the gambles don’t pay off (when he sings "Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum" on "Mutineer," it’s truly laughable), but only Dickinson could get away with singing "My Name is Love" on the song of the same name and turn it into an anthem.
Musically the album still finds Dickinson dressing up simple chord progressions with studio effects, but when that wall of sound hits you dead in the chest, it’s hard to argue with the delivery. The album doesn’t have the consistency of Catherine Wheel, but in a year that has seen downright disappointing solo albums from former indie-rock heroes like Bob Mould and Frank Black, Fresh Wine For the Horses is a welcome visit from a long lost friend.
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