TOMMY STINSON’S COWBOYS IN THE CAMPFIRE
Wronger (Icea)
Stinson, onetime bassist of the hugely influential The Replacements found himself touring, recording and writing with Guns N’ Roses for 16 years. In a parallel life, Stinson is a fine singer-songwriter in his own right and this latest collaboration with guitarist Chip Roberts is a good addition to his increasingly diverse catalogue.
There are traces of the punk rock aesthetic that underpinned the DIY sound of The Replacements across these 10 tracks. But Stinson has repositioned himself in an alternative Americana landscape where he is able to explore a rootsier sound while avoiding cliché through lyrics that undercut a more homespun feel (“I had a dream, you weren’t in it”).
There’s plenty of ukulele strumming, as on opener Here We Go Again, and rockabilly fun like That’s It, with Roberts definitely holding up his end of the partnership through fine picking on tracks like Fall Apart Together. As a next step in a career that’s hard to pin down, Wronger is a Stinson album that sounds just right, just where it is.
words JOHN-PAUL DAVIES
Want more music?
The latest reviews, interviews, features and more, from Wales and beyond.