Lloyd Cole & The Commotions burned brightly and briefly in the mid eighties and were one of Scotland’s biggest bands at the time. They were one of the rare breed of bands with critical acclaim and sales to match.
We then heard Lloyd speak and he was English, all The Commotions were Scottish so as a fellow Scotsman we are happy to claim them as one of our better bands.
The problem for Lloyd Cole is although he released many great albums with The Commotions and as a solo artist, Rattlesnakes was a superb debut album and is always deemed his masterpiece.
The album opens and closes with the best two songs. Perfect Skin cracked the top thirty with a catchy guitar riff and a great vocal and Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken is three minutes of beauty and tenderness that still cuts deep nearly forty years later.
The other eight songs anyone would be proud of, and the album still excites and at just over thirty-five minutes it does not outstay its welcome.
The Commotions were more than just a backing band, they were his equal in their playing, Speedboat and Forest Fire are worth anyone’s time.
8/10
GIVE IT A STREAM: Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken?