Duncan Lloyd is best known as the guitarist and musical driving force behind Maximo Park, but Lloyd’s frenetic outpouring has also seen him busy with various projects including Decade In Exile, Nano Kino and solo work under his own name. I O U O M E is his new album. The songs tackle subjects like surviving change, detailing the effort to escape self destructiveness, division and the inevitable breakdown of certain relationships...

I O U O M E is a pretty impressive offering from Duncan Lloyd. It opens with 'The City Weeps', which to be perfectly honest isn't really that strong a track to open on. In fact on the first play through I was immediately under the impression that this one was going to be a long and rather dull slog. This wasn't helped by the second track 'You Seem Confused' which sounded a little like an upbeat song by The Smiths (if you can imagine such a thing).

The LP contains 10 songs (31 min, 08 sec), and it wasn't until the fourth song, 'Being Frank', that I started to warm to the album. Other highlights include 'Steel Pin Raindrops'; 'Tomorrow's Fires'; and 'Really'.

It's one that you need to spend some time with. It's doubtful that you'll get it after the first, second or even third play through. But give it time and you'll find it matures like a fine wine.

8

Nick Smithson