Lloyd Cole: Standards

Lloyd Cole and his band the Commotions were one of the few bright spots of rock and roll in the Eighties, his fetching melodies and sly lyrics woven in and out of understated musicianship via semi-detached vocals. Since then, Cole's often moved into realms that belie his arch persona, such as Sinatra-styled orchestration, but Standards carries its title into deep, unsentimental irony.

Or so it would seem despite the fact the rhythm section here, Fred Maher on drums and Matthew Sweet on bass, is the same one on Cole's eponymous solo debut (Capitol, 1990) and its followup Don't Get Weird On Me Babe (Capitol, 1991). But their staunch presence is all too obvious from the start on the one cover, John Hartford's "California Earthquake," among the eleven originals on Standards. The comic fatalism of the lyrics on the bluegrass player's tune is one Cole delivers with his usual aplomb, as he also does on "Women's Studies;" if the transplanted Briton is out to prove he hasn't lost his style, he accomplished his goal early.

Muscular rhythm guitars are prominent throughout this album, the decorations that make those forceful on that cut like the winsome harmony vocals and tuneful acoustic piano supplied by Joan Wasser. "Period Piece" hits in similarly roundabout fashion: lyrics capture and hold attention even as the rising/falling chord changes beg singalong to involved verbiage—not easy, but not much less infectious. And that cut's over just as it begins, or so it seems, like the best pop, calling for an immediate replay.

"Myrtle and Rose" is a more somber piece where the gently played guitars tickle the ears as if to open them and make sure the details in Cole's lyrics, as vivid as those of a great short story, find a home to germinate and eventually reveal their depth of meaning: ..."the longer you were gone, the less the longing.." Lloyd Cole has suggested much of the impetus behind this record (at first widely available only in Europe) was the imagination he heard in Bob Dylan's last studio album, Tempest (Columbia, 2012), and certainly the Bard would be proud of the younger man's skill at the kiss-off song, not to mention appreciate the ever-so-slight echo of Dylan's phrasing in Cole's singing on "Diminished Ex."

Given Standards was recorded in three different studios, its uniformly inviting production is all the more impressive. On "Blue Like Mars," for instance, the cool sound of synths balances the stinging guitar solo,while the heartbeat rhythm grows as imperceptibly the album's overall momentum; by the time "Opposites Day" appears ushered in on the sound of a molten guitar, the lift becomes palpable when the background vocals billow toward the end.

Further testament to Lloyd Cole's experience making records is a savvy that moves him to pace this album by placing the ballad "Silver Lake" as the very next track, its acoustic guitar as up front as the words Cole delivers with far more direct emotion than usual, despite the superficial stoicism. The contrast is as striking as the emotional undercurrent in "It's Late," where glowing electric piano casts just the right shadow in the arrangement to give an ominous edge to the 'la la la's' that grace the bridge.

The consistently inspired tone of Standards makes it no surprise Lloyd Cole is so aware of time passing on "Kids Today," but by the time the cut ends (abruptly), it's also clear, based on the tongue-in-cheek vocal, he's not worried. On the contrary, he sounds more than a little proud to have history that furthers the force of his work here.