There are times when even I pine for the glory days of indie pop. Those halcyon days when lads and lassies from the better part of town donned their patterned sweaters and sensible shoes and unleashed a verifiable storm of wry humour tempered only by sugar coated irony. These days, the pickings from that particular musical vineyard are slim but one of the stalwarts - Andrew Paterson of the Felt Tips – has returned disguised as Pat’s Alternative Bus Tour and with an album called “World To Rights”.
Years pass, governments change, perspectives alter, hairlines recede and waists get a size or two more than projected target values yet Pat’s Alternative Bus Tour, to his credit, has still managed to maintain his wry outlook on life even if the humour is rather less evident than it once was. Focussing on the trivialities of life, and the spiritual oppression that comes when they are combined with the passing of time, whilst mixing in a somewhat oblique sentimentality draws a remarkably clear picture of the daily dream that we pay for as a monthly subscription and, if you seek words of wisdom. they are easily found amongst the jingle jangle bounce that takes so many of these songs from start to finish. That’s not to say that this album won’t raise a smile or ten for even the most empathy deleted cyberman would find joy in the wit that drives “Pat’s Uninteresting Tours” and “Please Don’t Vote Conservative” straight on to your neighbourhood roundabout in an unadvisedly high gear.
Even if you have fallen by the wayside of the ambition highway or even if you now worship at the altars of Habitat and Ikea, you can safely put this album on repeat. In fact, if I were a doctor, I might even write you a prescription for it.