«There’s a light in me that’s keeping hope alive», sang James Grant on the last Love and Money record. Five years on, one more flop, and on the first track of his solo debut he sings, « I’m not sure what hurts me more:/The fact that I’ve lost my guiding light/Or finding out it wasn’t all that bright ». And, mind you, from there on it’s all downhill, a walk down misery lane. Titles like like "I Can’t Stop Bleeding", "I Don’t Know You Anymore" (meaning "I don’t love you anymore"), "If You Love Me Leave Me Alone" and "This Is The Last Time" are more than eloquent. Oh yes, there actually is one languorously tender song where beauty (physical, I presume) is seen as a possible cure for life, but the lyrics are in the past tense, and he’s just using the past to exorcise the past - the present has nothing to offer him. So, did we really need another terminally sadcore, end-of-the-line record, another Bob Mould’s "Workbook", another Robert Smith’s "Disintegration", another Mark Eitzel story of personal loss and defeat? The answer is: YEEESSSS!!! we fucking need that stuff! Well, at least I do for one, and if you’ve ever been there, you can’t help being sucked into "Sawdust In My Veins". In terms of songwriting and performing, this album is the culmination of James Grant’s career. Donald Shaw is an ace producer, Kevin McCrae’s strings are magnificent and everything’s so appropriate it risks being AOR. It is not, because Grant means every word he sings and every note he plays, and even the funky slickness of some of the playing, a reminder of Love and Money cynicism, has its meaning here. Grant’s vocals are always tense, soulful and sexy, his playing impeccably tainted by the blues, powerful and restrained like smouldering ashes - the guitar lick on "Hide" burns like the devil himself forged it. Although he doesn’t play with any kind of self image, it’s easy to picture him as some kind of black rider, a solitary hero wrestling with his own demons. He’s always had a streak of psychobilly about him, and when he sings « Out in the rain with my spats and my cane » you start thinking about some deranged hallelujah man stalking around in the Glasgow night. However, on the last track, a bitter country ballad, Grant declares, « I’m not bored or restless, and I’m not going mad », and we believe him. « If you love me/Walk away/You can break my heart some other day » is the parting shot. You gotta laugh.