Simon RushworthTony Wright – Tony Wright (Self Released)
Genre: Alt Rock
Terrorvision were in typically mischievous mood on the Ramblin’ Man main stage earlier this month and frontman Tony Wright reinforced his reputation as a frontman as engaging as he is enraging. At his best he’s brilliant but surely this is a musician whose potential remains unfulfilled.
The follow-up to previous solo offering Thoughts N All reinforces the point. There are moments of peerless entertainment evoking Terrorvision at their chart-busting, genre-defying best. But then there’s a striking lack of consistency that’s genuinely hard to stomach.
It’s almost as if Wright veered from a mood of wild enthusiasm to rank indifference during the recording process – at times dropping modern classics like Music Is The Food Of Love before occasionally dropping the ball completely (check out the dreadful Delete Repeat).
Nobody could reasonably expect a record that’s all killer and no filler and there are more good tunes here than most bands could pen in a lifetime. But there’s a nagging sense that, given a little more care and attention, this self-titled set could have been something very special indeed.
Wright’s problem is that he’s set the bar so high in the past that expectations are unreasonably high. This is good. It’s just not great.
RUSHONROCK RATED: 7/10 Almost Wright