Graham Coxon
Happiness in Magazines

THE REVIEW

“Happiness in Magazines” by ex-Blur Graham Coxon is his fifth work outside of Blur. Today I am in the mood to review this album. It is the first work after his departure from the band, which he left after Albarn was taking a path that was too “electronic.” The sounds are a mix between the britpop of “Parklife” and the noise of “Modern Life…” and the self-titled album.

The dance opens with the lively “Spectacular”, a rather noisy and at times cacophonous glam-punk… It’s certainly not the gem of the album… However, as we proceed with the listening, excellent tracks emerge such as “No Good Time”, extremely Parklife-ish, “Bittersweet Bundle Of Misery”, though too similar to “Coffee & Tv” (the drum base is identical, and even the chord progression and strumming speed are very similar), the punky “Freakin' Out”, the first single released that will not disappoint those who loved “Jubilee” and “Bank Holiday”.

“Hopeless Friend” approaches the sounds of “The Great Escape,” with a catchy melody and “ah… ah” choruses at 1:53 that couldn't be more brit. “Bottom Bunk” flaunts a very bizarre vocal melody, an even stranger chord progression, a nice Hammond organ, a 100% brit drum... but it’s not the best. Then comes yet another britpop of “Don’t Be A Stranger”, with a marimba/guitar solo in the middle. So far, I've analyzed the britpop sounds, but I will mention the lo-fi/noise ones: “People Of The Earth” is the dirtiest and most cacophonous offering of the album, a fast chorus with spoken verses and dark chords, “Are You Ready” reminds me of Morricone at times (don’t kill me for this observation!), it’s a rather lazy country-folk. There is also room for two ballads: “All Over Me”, overflowing with strings, and the “piano-driven” “Ribbons And Leaves”, ultra-slow.

In conclusion, this is certainly not an album masterpiece, but it contains four or five must-have tracks if you love the sounds of Blur.

I certainly cannot give more than three stars, though. Coxon is creative, but without Albarn's input, he is often too cacophonous and chaotic… I preferred him in Blur! I hope this statement doesn’t spark controversy… I am waiting for a new album from them, and in the meantime, I console myself with the “Midlife” collection.