Outside Looking In

Much has changed in the 20 years since Bernard Binns hit the big time with The Helicopters' hit 'Mysteries & Jealousies'. His pink pants-white socks-denim jacket combo is now consigned to the '80s bad taste bin. Vereeniging has been supplanted by a tiny village in the English countryside. And the popstar lifestyle has been replaced by the occasional bit of metal detecting.

What hasn’t changed though is his uncanny knack for writing enchanting pop songs. Rooted in the British indie movement of the '80s, tracks like opener 'God's Land' — all chiming guitars and crisp, melancholy vocals — compare favourably to the finest moments of Ian "Lightning Seeds" Broudie or Roland "Tears For Fears" Orzabal.

With its chugging riff, 'Breathe' may add a grimier edge to the verses, and a quiet desperation to the choruses but remains as hummable as, say, 'The Life Of Riley'.

'A36' is more unexpected. Ominous, whispered vocals ("Take care to catch the sun / It burns into my skin" he spits, almost bitterly) are suddenly ripped apart by a frenzied guitar solo, but the beautiful refrain of "Feel me/ I want you to feel me" gives Binns away.

'Los Glacieres' adds a surprising — and slightly incongruous — latino flavour to Binns' second solo album, while the unsatisfying piano-led 'The First Time You Saw Me' features a spoken vocal and a distinct experimental edge, with guitar reverb, synth strings, and layered voices battling it out over a steady groove.

His pop sensibilities are less disguised on the ballad 'Up Or Down' — you can’t really get much more straightforward than six string strumming, piano fills and the countrified twang of an electric guitar — or the paradoxically celebratory pair 'Mad Bad World' and 'Cut To The Bone', both masking their despairing lyrics beneath the sunniest melodies this side of summer.