Lindsey Buckingham

Lindsey Buckingham

Crystalline post-Fleetwood guitar pop Lindsey Buckingham added a quirky, enigmatic edge to Fleetwood Mac that was an essential part of the band’s success. Here, however, the starkness of Buckingham’s musical vision is presented raw and freshly sliced – and it’s quite an odd flavour. Opener Scream juxtaposes campfire chords with a lyrical strand straight out of the Id: “I love you when you scream,” Buckingham intones, cheerfully, to unsettling effect. Balmier, lighter breezes waft through I Don’t Mind, while Swan Song shows why Buckingham should be regarded as one of the truly great melodic rock guitarists, with its fusillade of deft, propulsive soloing. Overall, there’s an obsessive, jeweller’s precision to the songcraft that is impressive but, at times, a little inhuman, too. It adds up to an oddly conflicted album: by turns generous in spirit and resentful, soulful yet synthetic.

Standout track: Swan Song

For fans of: Fleetwood Mac, King Crimson