AFTER fronting a series of scratchy Peel-fave bands, including the current Whole Sky Monitor, John Parkes knows his way around.
But this second solo album isn't simply indie without the beef, it's a finely-honed set of urban British folk, only nowhere near as earnest as that sounds.
Armed with just his voice and grumpy guitar, Parkes dissects the gamut of modern ills with uncomfortable, surgical precision - "Terrorists founded the United States" he reports on Glorification of Terrorism.
Other targets include the clinical approach to relationships (Let's Make Love), agitpop hampered by its own past (Second Golden Age of Protest) and New Labour's attacks on personal freedom (Left of Centre) - Illegal Songs is named with good reason.
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