Adam Green
Emily

Welcome to Adam Green Town - a crack den for every community center and a hooker for every house of God. Skewed tales of modern debauchery are laid over lush pop instrumentation, demonstrated best on last year's acclaimed 'Friends Of Mine'.

While his cocksure delivery and non-sensical lyrics remain ("I got the cookies that your momma sent, I got permission from the government"), the first single from new album 'Gemstones' replaces the previously ponderous nature of earlier material with warmer tones. 'Emily''s elastic guitar lines and bouncing wurlitzer pack a more immediate punch when paired with Green's classic pop sensibilities. It feels as if tongues are no longer planted firmly in cheeks, removing the prevailing arrogance and immaturity that 'Friends Of Mine' occasionally suffered from.

In terms of b-sides, while the faux-country lament of 'The Rotary Shakes' falls just short of the mark, 'Crackhouse Blues' is enjoyable rockabilly-lite. But then comes possibly one of the most obvious choices for a cover given Green's penchant for profanity and his support slot on the recent Babyshambles tour - The Libertines' 'What A Waster'. Maybe it's because I'm easily pleased or perhaps it's because I've had a fairly unfulfilling day, but there's nothing quite as pleasing as hearing everybody's favourite anti-folk hipster sing "Mind your bleedin' own you two bob c***."

I did mention it was a really unfulfilling day, right?