I heard a lot of buzz on other sites about Captain Wilberforce. My first impression was a singer/songwriter with great melodic skills along the lines of The Brigadier or Glen Tilbrook. This is intelligent Brit-rock with a delicate strum and occasional angular buzzing riff here and there. Simon Bristoll aka Captain Wilberforce applies his wit and skill to these songs in a precise manner, similar to Colin Moulding of XTC. This really evident in the title track, where all the nice XTC-Bryan Scary like detailed flourishes come together perfectly. This is followed by the Squeeze-like “Confetti Champagne And Roses.” A stunner here is “The Girl Who Broke Her Own Heart” which of could be called the classic Brit-pop ballad. Tim Finn is another point of comparison on “Get A Grip My Dear” and “Don’t Get Me Started” is another rich tune with a great melody that is both well constructed and played. However, Bristoll’s vocals don’t have a very wide range and strength, even so his arrangements compensate for this. Also, some of the latter tracks fail to excite even though they are prepared for the listener in a pretty package, the exception here is the wonderfully Jellyfish-like “Born Again Brand New Man”. If you like the bands mentioned above, this will satisfy your pop itch. I expect great things in the future from the Captain.