Bryn’s theme for this round was a simple one on paper: male solo album by someone who had been, or still is, in a band. Straightforward. No confusion. Surely.
And yet.
Coxy arrived initially with a fine LP (his words) by the late Denise Johnson (former backing singer with Primal Scream/New Order) — he told us she has a wonderful voice, and it’s a cracking record, but absolutely not male. Once the brief was clarified (and the laughter subsided), he swapped it out for something that actually fit.
Food, as always, was excellent — Vinyl Club doesn’t do bad catering — but Coxy’s pulled beef and nachos still earned a special mention.
Before the first record span, the night had already found its first talking point: Bryn’s “new country” versus Verso’s “proper country.” Bryn argued that modern artists like Orville Peck have the style, substance, and songs to stand alongside the greats. Verso disagreed, firmly. Yes, “new” country throws up the odd gem, but it doesn’t hold a candle to George Jones, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson — and that’s just the men. And when it comes to depth and quality? No other genre comes close to the women of country: Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt to name just a handful.
Coxy – Owl John by Owl John (2014)
Scott Hutchison’s one-off side project during a Frightened Rabbit hiatus, Owl John trades the band’s anthemic indie for a more stripped-back, moody palette. Written partly in the isolation of the Isle of Mull and partly in the US, it’s an album of late-night atmosphere, lyrical bite, and moments that feel almost whispered.
The Frightened Rabbit DNA is still there — the emotional honesty, the occasional soaring hook — but the space in the arrangements makes it more intimate.
Full Track Listing:
Side One: Cold Creeps · Red Hand · Hate Music · Los Angeles, Be Kind · Songs About Roses
Side Two: A Good Reason to Grow Old · Bad Kitten · Stupid Boy · God or Whatever · Fake Warm
Verso’s View: Moody, magnetic, and quietly brilliant. You can tell it’s from the same mind as Midnight Organ Fight, but it’s more personal and less guarded.
Bryn – Bronco by Orville Peck (2022)
Bryn’s “new country” flagbearer. Peck’s masked cowboy persona might be the hook, but it’s the deep, velvet baritone and widescreen arrangements that do the real work. Bronco blends traditional country melancholy with cinematic scope, drenched in reverb and romance. He does great impressions of Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison throughout with just a glimmer of the Elvis snarl.
It’s modern country as stylised spectacle — dramatic, mysterious, and unapologetically big.
Full Track Listing:
Side One: Daytona Sand · The Curse of the Blackened Eye · Outta Time · Lafayette · C’mon Baby, Cry · Iris Rose
Side Two: Kalahari Down · Bronco · Trample Out the Days · Blush · Hexie Mountains
Side Three: Let Me Drown · Any Turn · City of Gold · All I Can Say
Side Four: Deep in the Woods · Paint the Town Blue
Verso’s View: Stylish and cinematic, sure. But it’s still no Jones, Cash, or Kristofferson. And if you’re talking true country greatness, the women are untouchable.
Verso – Full Moon Fever by Tom Petty (1989)
My pick was a model example of the brief. Petty’s first “solo” outing — with Jeff Lynne producing and several Heartbreakers still contributing — is nothing but hooks, chiming guitars, and unfussy brilliance.
From the sunlit jangle of Free Fallin’ to the gallop of Runnin’ Down a Dream, it’s Petty at his most accessible, without losing any edge.
Full Track Listing:
Side One: Free Fallin’ · I Won’t Back Down · Love Is a Long Road · A Face in the Crowd · Runnin’ Down a Dream
Side Two: Feel a Whole Lot Better · Yer So Bad · Depending on You · The Apartment Song · Alright for Now · A Mind with a Heart of Its Own · Zombie Zoo
Verso’s View: Safe? Absolutely. Brilliant? Without question. Hard to pick just four to play as the full LP is one you rarely have to skip.
Jimmy – Joe Strummer 002: The Mescaleros Years (2022)
Jimmy went for scale with this boxset of Strummer’s post-Clash work. Across three Mescaleros albums plus extras, it’s a rich, restless collection: reggae grooves, folk textures, global rhythms, and flashes of punk spirit.
It’s not a career epilogue — it’s proof Strummer never stopped moving forward.
Verso’s View: Strummer’s voice — both musical and political — was still sharp right to the end. This set underlines just how much he still had to say.
Closing Verdict
Three direct hits, one brief-related wobble quickly corrected, and a country music debate that will probably rage until the next meeting. As usual, the food matched the music for quality.
Hutchison’s intimate shadows, Peck’s reverb-soaked theatre, Petty’s flawless songcraft, and Strummer’s global grit made for a night that ticked every corner of the male solo spectrum.
Next time? Still working on the theme. It will be simple but one of us (Coxy or Jim) will bring something totally off piste.
Big thanks to Wikipedia again as it’s my “go to” to learn a little more about the albums we played which helps me flesh out my prose.
