Tempting though it undoubtedly is, CDBaby's offer of a giant life-size poster of the man with every order can't quite tip the balance in favour of acquiring Mobilize, the latest from Grant-Lee Phillips. Now if this album had appeared before Josh Rouse's latest things might've been different. GLP ploughs a pretty similar furrow, uncannily so on certain tracks - Humankind could've come straight off Under cold blue stars. If the latter had been produced by, say, Jeff Lynne some of it might've come out sounding like Phillips' Beautiful dreamers. It's all good melodic stuff and a risk-free 'buy' for fans of UCBS; Damien Jurado's I break chairs also falls into this category, if slightly less squarely...

Another that got away in 2001? Some snatches from various reviews:
"Cool flowing pop melodies that are supported by some really killer arrangements and guitar playing...Americana-based pop chock full of excellent melodies and sincere intent.."
"Americana with drive ... subtle pop hooks, sweet enough to bite into, and hard enough to chew on for awhile.."
"His ability to write memorable melodies rivals his talent for crafting distinctive guitar hooks...Considering his reputation as master axeman for Yo La Tengo and Freedy Johnston, that’s some achievement."
The album Ecstatic appeared last autumn on FutureFarmer, the 'master axeman' in question being Kevin Salem...

Next week throws up Romantica, the latest from Luna - can they pull off that tricky 7th album in the hands of Mr Ubiquitous, Dave Fridmann? Early words are positive: "A sonic album filled with twelve unbelievably delightful pop nuggets," gushes In Music We Trust; Allmusic loves it, too. reallyrather's interest may or may not have been influenced by the recent addition of a new bass player (she's the one on the right). In Splendid's view Ms Phillips "proves her worth in Mermaid eyes [which is] borderline doo-wop". Doo-wop! Triple bonus points, surely?!