Mansun: "Attack Of The Grey Lantern"

Released: 1997

Mansun took many people by surprise when they released their debut album. The band had released several good if fairly straightforward but slightly quirky indie rock singles, so when "Attack Of The Grey Lantern" arrived, full of strings and electronic touches, as well as it being close to a concept album in terms of lyrics and narrative, it came a a pleasant shock.

The album itself is really rather good. The five songs released as singles are all very good, and there's only a couple of weaker songs among the rest. The album flows really well, even when changing from string-laden songs (like opener 'The Chad Who Loved Me') into quieter, partly-electronic songs (like track two, 'Mansun's Only Love Song').

'You, Who Do You Hate?' and 'Naked Twister' are the weaker songs, but they don't detract too much from what is an excellent and fairly ambitious album. This was a real highlight of the latter days of the Britpop era.

Rating: 4.5/5