Charles Douglas – The Lives of Charles Douglas

When Charles Douglas first sang the lyric “Made a record without even trying/ No one could find it so they thought we were lying,” it’s unlikely he fully appreciated its prophetic value. When the record subsequently disappeared following a cheap and limited US run in 1999, the irony was probably appreciated less still. Now, eleven years after it was committed to tape, the Moe Tucker-produced The Lives of Charles Douglas gets its belated dues, yet its convoluted journey hasn’t rendered it lost or out of time.

Douglas’ brand of fuzzy guitar rock marks him as a temporarily waylaid contemporary of Ted Leo, freely mining the classics for inspiration (Lou Reed is a recurring presence, while Baby Come On practically plagiarises The Angels). But despite the lost decade, it never feels like a time capsule – turns out one of the most refreshing alt-rock records of 2010 was made in the nineties. [Chris Buckle]