Darrin Bradbury writes about the way things really are in America - a singular perspective shaped by a natural gift for storytelling, a lingering battle with depression and a sly sense of humour. A self-described folk satirist who has toured the country for more than a decade, Bradbury collects his oddball observations in his latest LP, Talking Dogs & Atom Bombs...

Listening to Darrin Bradbury is a little like listening to Billy Bragg: he has an interesting and important message, but his delivery may put a lot of people off. Bradbury is not a natural singer, that much is a given, and for the majority of the songs he half talks, half sings the lyrics.

At times I couldn't help thinking I was listening to an artist whose core audience was probably hillbillies... but the more times I listened to the album, the more it grew on me, the less Bradbury's vocal talents grated on me and the more I started to appreciate the diversity on offer. 'Dallas 1963' is the one track here that seems radically different - almost like a Lou Reed and John Cale track that was accidentally left off Songs for Drella.

5

Nick Smithson