Ahead of a well deserved retrospective comes this sublime and thoughftul paean from Ed Harcourt, recently turned thirty years old. "I only write songs when I'm sad" he sings in the first verse - not, thankfully the title put forward for his best of.
Though it may be the dreaded hanger-on, the track put in to convince the fans their wallets should be emptied once more, this is a song that sums up its author neatly. Lovelorn, yet subtly uplifting in its quiet grandeur, unremarkable in its execution but with a nicely played piano and weird, spatial bridge to lift it well above the ordinary.
It's a suitable addendum, with an accompanying video where the smartly dressed singer sits at the piano in a setting reminiscent of Garden State. Harcourt lovers - and there are a pleasing number out there - will have no need to hesitate.
share: 
