Gavin Friday

catholic Rubyworks**

Gavin Friday's first album in 16 years is informed by both his personal tribulations (divorce, bereavement) and career choices (his work in film and theatre scoring has been commended). The shock value intimated by

catholic

's cover art is non-existent. The singer's trademark seedy growl and compositional homages to Bowie and Ferry are still very audible, with the only indistinct surprises emerging in the form of the cinematic streaks running through

Lord I'm Coming

and

Where'd Ya Go? Gone

, which is welcome in the face of the prosaic confessional ballads. Elsewhere,

Blame

's grizzled Americana breaks the spacy monotony, and A

Song That Hurts

proves that the 51-year-old can still hit the high notes. Overall, though,

catholic

's laboured intensity means that only Friday fans will find salvation in its tunes. See gavinfriday.com

Download tracks: Where'd Ya Go? Gone, Blame