Like their previous work, this sixth album by the Manchester three-piece romanticises the down-and-out but with less self-loathing than Bukowski and less rowdy poetry than The Pogues.
In short, it’s just too nice.
While the tracks do evoke a seedy pub poetry, patron saint Guy Garvey’s over-polished production attempts to replace John Bramwell’s pint-of-bitter grit with an elegant chardonnay sheen.
But it’s not all tea and biscuits. The hungover pain of “Bullets” sees the bleary lyrics and stumbling bassline blown away by a jagged guitar storming in like last night’s stinging memories.
The strung-out single “Hold Back The Night” sees Bramwell’s vocals shift from the bland folk of “Let Them All In” to an impressive bluesy belt.
The tension of the track is built to an epic crescendo via Garvey’s hysterical strings.
The baroque arrangements again surface on “These Days Are Mine”, but this time the strings nearly overwhelm a track that simply doesn’t need that kind of ornamentation.
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Between these highlights are simply too many buffed and derivative ditties. Perhaps it’s an antipodean bias, but “Mouth On Me” sounds like it was pulled straight from the Paul Kelly songbook while the refrain on “Shoeless” sees Bramwell doing his best Tim Freedman impression.
“Some Better Day” sees the band offering the type of pop song that The Beatles perfected half a century ago.
I Am Kloot are at their best when they scuff up their tracks with maudlin attitude, when they work in some of the grit that Garvey seems so intent on polishing away.
Unfortunately, those moments are few and largely subsumed by the buffed and characterless surfaces that dominate this album.
