His third solo release since the demise of The Verve, Ashcroft's Keys To The World bears all the hallmarks of a great pop-rock album, but then leaves a rather unpleasant after-taste.
With that magnificent voice to draw on, and boundless energy and power to boot, the bulk of Keys To The World is both charged and catchy.
Opening track Why Not Nothing brings promise with its fiery guitar riffs and grizzly rock-star vocals; Music Is Power has a similar up-beat feel.
But then there are the almost ballad-like tracks, like Sweet Brother Malcolm and Cry Til The Morning, which are insipid, gushing and self-obsessed.
No one can deny that Ashcroft has a great voice and can make great music. There are hints of this in Keys to the World, but it is nowhere near the heights of his work with The Verve.
"I've got the keys to the world", he sings amid a backdrop of ambient choral singers. "A mixed up world, a suicidal world."
But it's ok, we're in good hands. Ashcroft's gonna sort us out.
Released January 23, 2006.
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