Artist bio

See also: Blur

Graham Coxon came to prominence in the '90s as guitarist of the pop quartet Blur, which roosted high on the U.K. charts for its entire career. Coxon was arguably the group's finest musician, his guitar parts spicing up Blur's albums with a practiced subversiveness stemming from his influence of the American underground -- particularly the noise-addled scientific rockula of Sonic Youth and Mission of Burma.

Coxon first branched off Blur with the 1998 album The Sky Is Too High, concentrating less on his abilities with scorching riffs and more on a melancholy songwriting ethos that he would all but obliterate with a punked-out sophomore effort, The Golden D. Crow Sit On Blood Tree followed in 2001 with no U.S. release, and as an alcohol-fuelled Coxon worked on his fourth solo disc in 2002, he became increasingly estranged from his Blur teammates, who finished the recording of thier seventh album without the guitarist.

Albums by this artist

The Golden D (2000)

The Sky Is Too High (1998)

Graham Coxon

The Sky Is Too High

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» TROY CARPENTER | CO-DIRECTOR

Graham Coxon The Sky Is Too High Transcopic, 1998 RiYL: Sebadoh, Syd Barrett, Blur, Nick Drake

Blur guitarist Graham Coxon's solo debut is more an expression of his songwriting ethos than a display of his prowess on guitar, and it's too bad. While the heartfelt lo-fi demos show an honest side of the musician, the album's low-ceiling production values file the record under "forgettable" for a majority of listeners.

Coxon thrives on dissonance, a trait he hasn't traditionally been allowed to express satisfactorily in Blur's more radio-friendly compositions. But alone, he excercises his license to experiment. The resulting songs are not immediately pleasing to the ear, but some have the potential to grow on you like inedible fungi. The album is melancholy throughout -- a sad, sober, introspective Coxon inviting listeners inside his four-track to have a cup of tea, look out the rain-speckled window, and feel weary with life.

"I Wish" has great lyrics about an episode of writer's block: "I wish the music would play by itself / shredded fingers / no ideas," and later an appeal to his muse: "I wish I could bring Nick Drake back to life / he'd understand / hold my ha-hand."

Coxon sounds a little too lonely. He has no one to tell him an instrument's too out-of-tune (a favorite trick of his, that) or that he goes a little too far in constructing a messy song. Penultimate track "Who The Fuck?" is a hectic, punkish tune with mostly nonsensical lyrics and a rushed chorus.

Closer "Mornin' Blues" shows some of Coxon's most personal axe work. He gives a passable, though extremely sloppy, Robert Johnson-esque shot at playing rhythm and lead guitar at the same time. It's nice to get a chance to hear a great musician go out on his own for a spell, but this record won't appeal to many fans of Coxon's more straightforward work with Blur. It's more suited to fans of Sebadoh and Karate.

TROY CARPENTER | Troy Carpenter founded NATN from a Chicago apartment during the ambitious winter of 1998 with co-conspirators Ben French and Jonathan Cohen. After a five-year stint in New York, he and wife Lourdes have recently relocated to Indianapolis, where he spends days listening to music and nights in the kitchen at Elements restaurant. Musical heroes: Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Super Furry Animals. What else makes life worth living: Sushi, Phucty, runs in the park, and the Atlanta Braves.