Horizontal Brian

  • Horizontal Brian
  • Vertical (Gold Mountain) 1983 

This nifty British quartet plays lyrically observant melodic rock, much in the same vein as Stackridge did in oldentide. Bassist Tony Phillips sings his own songs in an engaging, unprepossessing voice, humorously satirizing the shortcomings of parenthood (“Playing with the Babies”), colonial obsession (“Everybody Wants to Be American”), death (“Buried in Your Best Suit”) and more. Although not as sharp as the words, the music is dandy.

[Ira Robbins]