CityLife

Cherry Ghost

I CAN'T blame Simon Aldred from taking the rest of the year off. He'll need the rest judging on the sneak preview of what is likely to make up much of his sophmore album, to be released sometime in the new year, 2010 is going to be a momentous one for him and his Cherry Ghost comrades.

Tonight we get everything that made Aldred's debut Thirst for Romance such a spellbinding record: the soft plodding ballads the upbeat pop ditties, the alt-country croon, the mournful lyrics that tell stories about working class heroes and zeros.

But with the new tunes, Aldred's songwriting has found a whole new gear. More upbeat, more epic, but paradoxically more beautifully sad and melancholic.

Highlights tonight, include the instant classic and thumping 'Rolling River' as well as 'Closing In', surely destined to be a single from the news record, and will have Radio 2 listeners swaying to its lulling trumpet solo.

As well as a strong of impressive new tracks, Aldred reminded the sell-out crowd what makes him such a special talent with 'Thirst for Romance', '4 AM' and 'People Help the People', as well as slower takes on classics like 'Roses' and 'Mathematics'.

By all accounts Cherry Ghost's time is coming. They've already won over the critics, and songwriting judges at Ivor Novello Towers, but turning that into mainstream popularity and record sales is a uncertain process - ask Elbow, it took them long enough.

And with Guy Garvey and crew about to take a hiatus to write a new record, the time might be right for Aldred to make a claim for the crown, or at least keep it warm until their return.

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