Gavin Rossdale – Wanderlust
Posted by AlMachine on Tuesday, July 1, 2008


For some reason Gavin Rossdale never seems to be taken seriously; his band Bush were always considered to be a pale imitation of ‘Nirvana,’ yet he had the last laugh, landing himself Gwen Stefani! As a result he’s fair game for the paparazzi; but one thing is certain, those photographers would not be wanting his picture due to his musical ability it’s simply because of who he’s married too!

The album is bloated and excessive, with the 15 tracks clocking in at over an hour; not only that, musically it’s stuck in the past, with lyrics that can only be described as sickly “…I miss my wife and family…”

Rossdale has a gravelly voice, and this means he’s able to pull a few rabbits out of hats; so there are a few strong tracks here (although nothing is in the same league as ‘Swallow’), most notably ‘The Skin I’m In’ and ‘This Is Happiness’ but the ratio of hit to miss isn’t running in his favour and the standout moments are surrounded by stodge. If distorted guitars and rather simplistic lyrics that emit a feeling of driving at dusk in the LA hills are your cup of tea, then this will certainly float your boat; in fact from the album cover and song titles ‘Another Night In The Hills’ this is the feel and imagery that Rossdale is attempting to capture.

In retrospect the comparisons to Nirvana seem unfair, because if Cobain were still here, he wouldn’t be pedalling the same old crap; he’d have progressed musically.

Greg Thomas

3/10

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