Lloyd Cole - Anti Depressant

Lloyd Cole's mixture of jangly guitar pop, memorable melodies, and razor-sharp wordplay containing rich details and biting, sometimes cynical observations is difficult to resist. 2006's Anti Depressant is as good, if not better, than any album in Cole's discography (and there have been a lot of good ones since his debut in 1984), proving the Scot's songcraft and pop instincts have only grown keener with time. Whether on the wistful, dancing melody of the piano-driven "Woman in a Bar" or the knowing nod of the title track, Cole examines the hopes, fears, and disappointments of life, love, and aging with relentless precision and ingratiating style.(RS)