Sean O'Brien
Seed Of Mayhem
First Cold Press

Sean O'Brien has been circling around the Paisley Underground scene for about 20 years. Playing in bands such as Meantime, Denim TV and, most notably, True West. He recorded his first album under his own name in 2001 and here's his follow-up. As his first solo-album was more acoustically oriented this one's surely wired.

Well, not to misinform anyone; it's simply solid a rock album and not unplugged. From the get-go of "This Could Hurt" it's not hard to hear where he's coming from, which makes it very interesting to know where he's going further down the track-list. The jangling lead guitar on "Stumblebum" (gets me thinking of The Church) and the steady riff of "7.5" surely moves onward. As the album serves us 14 songs, I would not be sorely offended if he'd skipped "Possum Ate the Cat Food" and "Torn Sweater", both which doesn't sit well with me.

On the other side, there are many highlights that cover well for them. The sweetness and depth of "Cleaner That Way", the catchy "Damned Either Way" and the sheer fun of "Dough See Dough" makes for a record that I'll gladly reach for later.

Copyright © 2008 Anders Svendsen