NEIL GOES IT ON HIS OWN WITH SINGLE LIFE ITSELF

AS head of cool label CF Records and drummer, guitarist and singer in a string of fey pop bands, Neil Brogan is something of an indie renaissance man. He was a founder member of Girls Names - learning to bash the skins after their first gig was booked - and branched off into his own projects such as Sea Pinks and Winterlude. And while these projects may (or may not) be on indefinite hiatus, as musicians say, he has also begun recording under his own name. And it’s in this guise perhaps he is most himself. There’s an obvious thread thoughout all of the projects Neil is involved with - jangly guitars, bass, drums and introspective singing normally feature - as a solo artist it all feels more personal. The debut* Life Itself EP starts with a typically Broganish guitar line plucked out, no doubt, on a v i n t a g e G re t s c h o r Fe n d e r Coronado over zippy drums and a twangy bass that somehow seems to move all over the place while holding it all together. Painting Butterflies is like lo-fi call to arms. “We’re painting butterflies,” he sings with an-almost shrug. “Paint is spilling out the sides, and sometimes it turns out alright.” It’s a joyously downbeat, just how we like it.

But it’s on the title track, the last of the EP’S four songs, Neil seems to let go. “Darling, I love you more than life itself,” he gushes, in a good way. “No one else.”

And on this evidence, with Neil playing all the instruments and singing himself, it’d be hard to see why he’d need anyone else.

Check out Life Itself on Bandcamp a t n e i l b ro g a n . b a n d ca mp.co m/ releases.

*OK, it was released in August but, yeah, we’re just getting to it now...

GOING SOLO Neil Brogan