It has been three years since Edwyn Collins released an album, and six since he wrote one (2007’s ‘Home Again’ was written in 2004 before he suffered a major brain hemorrhage in 2005). You would be forgiven for thinking Collins was going to write a difficult to digest record about the trials and tribulations of being rendered helpless after an experience like that, and to some extent he has, but not in a way that is alien to those of us fortunate enough not to have gone through these experience.
Collins’ embraces his punk rock roots in 2010, with a confronting record that asks questions we have all asked. In ‘What Is My Role?’ he boldly asks the meaning of life in a way that you can relate to. “Sometimes I’m up, sometimes I’m down, sometimes I wonder, what is my role?” he sings as though articulating the weakness of humanity in a way that seems so obvious with the benefit of hindsight.
That said, the album is not just 42 minutes of philosophy. The track ‘In Your Eyes’ is an ode to his partner - Grace Maxwell - who documented his struggle to recover in her book ‘Falling and Laughing’. The song also features The Drums’ ‘Jonathan Pierce. In the song the pair sing “If you want to go, then I’ll let you know no you don’t have to stay, sometimes you’re tired and I know you’ve got to find your own way,” which highlights the struggles a family member or loved one goes through when they unexpectedly take on the role of carer, while in ‘Humble’ he sings “She’s making me humble, she’s making me shy, she’s making me humble, she’s making me cry.”
Collins’ influence on the UK indie scene is apparent on this record too. We have already mentioned Ryan Jarman of The Cribs and Jonathan Pierce of The Drums, but Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand also jumped at the chance to record with him on the punchy track ‘Do It Again’.
At first listen this record is a little shy, not willing to give in to your attempts to get to know it, but after a while its intricacies revealed itself. Collins’ unique perspective on life is almost spoken to you over some brilliant instrumentation. It is the album that won’t sleep with you on the first date, but if you give it a chance, it will love you forever.
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