Ribbons - Royals

It's a cruel fact of life that some people's pain is a marketable commodity, whereas others just sound like they're whinging crybabies. Jherek Bischoff, a musical collaborator of Xiu Xiu and The Dead Science, had to be coaxed into embarking on this mournful solo album that is so fragile and wispy that it practically floats away in the breeze. Bischoff clearly has some production chops but then self-consciously buries his vocals deep in the mix, pouring his little heart out in the protective ambient haze. There are brief flashes of testosterone: Children's Song kicks off with a glam-rock start and ends like an out-take from Tubular Bells while Birschoff shreds his guitar like a man possessed, but it's too little, too late, his vocal delivery so effete that he makes Morrissey sound like David Lee-Roth. Music can be cathartic, sure, but not everybody wants to be involved in the entire therapy session. [Ewen Millar]