Lloyd Cole: Music In A Foreign Language : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Lloyd Cole's latest solo effort is the sound of quiet disruption. An acoustic, sotto voce eviction of inner truths -- sans facades, posturing and emotional forgery -- Music in a Foreign Language reflects Cole's stripped-down live show of recent years. From the protagonist of the title track, who admits "I am cold, distant, increasingly resistant to your smile . . . what pale fire I ever had is gone," through to the disturbing, strings-embellished "My Other Life," a subdued take on Nick Cave's "People Ain't No Good," and the lullaby-like drug song "Brazil," sonic peacefulness is used to amplify existential nonsequiturs. Not altogether unlike Leonard Cohen, Cole reaches through the muck and mire to grab the still-beating heart. There are guest appearances from old friends like Neil Clark (the Commotions) and Dave Derby (the Negatives), but without doubt this is Cole's weeping child.

ADRIAN ZUPP
(March 29, 2004)