SFA

REALLY? It's not as immediate as the debut, but I think it's stronger over the piece. There's some incredible pop songs on it, the way Gruff can take relatively obscure political snippets and turn them into enjoyable three minute classics is unbelievable. The chorus in Dr Zhivago is the best thing I've heard all year.

It feels half-arsed to me. The playfulness of the debut is mostly gone. There's about 4 numbers which I really like but even then I'd rather hear the highlights from the debut over those. The bonus tracks were disposable too. It's still a decent listen but outside of the record with Tony Da Gatorra it's the most disappointing gruff related release he's put out. Dr Zhivago is pretty damn sweet though.

I honestly think it's the polar opposite of half-arsed. Gruff must have done weeks of research before he event went near a studio. I think it's much a tighter and focused record than the debut, but with equally as good hooks. And you can't get much more playful than Hoops with Fidel. The only thing on the debut I prefer is the ridiculously long intro to Raquel and the fact that Belfast features the word 'Tonight' in nearly every line

He'd done his research for sure, but I don't think the concept is fully realised through the record. It feels a bit slapped together. Gruff has even said that he wasn't sure if the story was sold that well through his lyrics, that's why they decided on a theatre style production so the story could be told & understood through visual performances.
Truth be told, It isn't so much the concept that bothers me, I just don't think the pair struck gold nearly half as much as they did the first time around.

& there's no HAR MAR