In a recent NME interview, Richard Ashcroft described ‘These People’ is a blend of old and new, with the resulting brew representing “something you’ve never heard before”. It’s a wonder, then, that his latest solo outing not only sounds achingly familiar, but painfully outdated, too.
Take, for example, the album’s title track. It’s a turgid affair, filled with double-tracked vocals and superfluous strings. There’s nothing exciting here, and what we do have is made worse by the former Verve frontman’s boasting. “I feel like a number one again,” he sings during the song’s soporific outro, seemingly blind to his own slide into creative mediocrity.
Given Ashcroft’s more recent releases, it might come as no surprise that his latest body of work isn’t that impressive. After all, 2010’s ‘United Nations of Sound’ and the now decade-old ‘Keys to the World’ weren’t exactly universally praised.
But given his resurgent desire to put out new material after a six-year absence, as well as a new look courtesy of a shaved head, all signs seemed to suggest renewed fire in the belly of the Britpop icon. Instead, what we’ve got is something of a damp squib.
There are some moments of promise, though. Black Lines, a song inspired by the passing of a close friend, occasionally shines with ‘Urban Hymn’-like melodies and, despite featuring some snoozy guitar leads, the mid-tempo singalong They Don’t Own Me shows potential to galvanise scores, perhaps not legions, of fans at live shows.
But these bright spots are few and and far between. The majority of ‘These People’ is as banal and bland as its unassuming title. And whenever Ashcroft does try to mix things up, the result is something that sounds like a Eurovision runner-up from the '00s. Opener Out Of My Body fuses acoustic guitars with antiquated effects, while Hold On is the kind of millennial Europop jam that might get your head bobbing after a few vodkas. Originality, it seems, is a fleeting thing.
Ashcroft isn’t alone. Like Noel Gallagher, his best work remains firmly in the past. There’s nothing wrong with that. But saying that ‘These People’ provides an entirely new listening experience is like saying bread will taste different if you slice it a certain way. It won’t, and it’ll no doubt turn stale before you’ve had chance to get through the whole loaf.
Richard Ashcroft Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Fri May 27 2016 - GLASGOW O2 Academy Glasgow
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