12 tracks · 49 min
It may not be a massive surprise to hear that Toploader's comeback album sounds quite a lot like Coldplay. What might be a bit of a surprise is that it sounds quite a lot like Coldplay in 2005. 'Only Human', the first album by Joseph Washbourn and co. for almost nine years, sounds like an 'X&Y' throwback in many ways, with echoey lead guitar and lingering falsetto vocals cropping up throughout. Early noughties Indie fans may be familiar with Toploader for the garish soul-pop of 'Dancing In The Moonlight' (which was a cover anyway), but 'Only Human' is a much more stereotypical effort, with the odd synth riff thrown in for good measure amidst a flurry of very forgettable colour-by-numbers tunes. Lead single 'A Balance To All Things' sets the tone for a fairly inoffensive album, which seems content to plod along without ever really delivering any moments of inspiration or being brave enough to demand attention. The low point arrives with the thoroughly insipid ballad 'Paradise', which comes across as more detached than arresting, while 'Sound Of Your Soul' and 'Weight Of The World' are packed to the rafters with lyrical clichés. "The weight of all the world is resting down on me,/ …
