Rob Dickinson

Rob Dickinson may be the cousin of Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson, but he was also the singer of shoegaze titans Catherine Wheel. So it's no surprise that the husky-voiced frontman's solo debut sounds a lot like his former band (sans the waves of guitar wash). The songs here are a mature fusion of Coldplay and Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz).

On the surface, the solo debut from ex-Catherine Wheel singer Rob Dickinson smacks of a
thirtysomething auteur channeling his quiet reflections into fussy tunes. But on the
orchestral "My Name Is Love" and the Leonard Cohen-lite "The Night," Dickinson's gentle
melodies sound effortless even when the arrangements aren't. After that, he has you, and
even when poetic ponderousness creeps in on later tracks, Fresh Wine goes do... More >