Del Amitri

Fatal Mistakes COOKING VINYL

Been a long time…

’You can’t go back,’ Justin Currie sings on the opening track of Glaswegian pop-rockers Del Amitri’s first studio album in 18 years, and a determination not to rehash former glories lingers throughout Fatal Mistakes.

So while long-term fans might initially be disappointed by the marked absence of the barroom swagger of yore, repeated listens bear fruit. A David Crosby-esque Lonely comes with the emotional heft of Currie’s solo output, while It’s Feelings is a breezy folk-rocker in the vein of Hatful Of Rain.

It’s when the band cut loose, though, that you’re reminded of what we’ve been missing. I’m So Scared Of Dying is a peach, with Iain Harvie’s Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere-era Neil Younglike lead guitar lines providing the perfect backdrop for

Currie’s mid-life anxieties. Sevenminute finale Nation Of Caners,

meanwhile, finds Currie cleverly updating Nothing Ever Happens,

delivering a typically caustic state-of-the nation address. ■■■■■■■■■■