Edwyn Collins isn't a total stranger to success (having enjoyed hit singles with 'Rip It Up' and 'A Girl Like You'), but most of his curiously idiosyncratic career has been spent firmly on the margins of pop. This suits the former frontman of Orange Juice just fine, of course, since there's nothing he likes better than sniping at the mainstream he clearly regards as so much beneath him. The snooty Glaswegian's first solo album for five years sees him in familiar acerbic form, although this time Collins's vitriol seems to be aimed as much at himself as others ("I'm just taking more risks.that's remarkably easy when you're remarkably pissed"). He even manages to have go at pop's untouchables in 'The Beatles', which sums up The Fab Four's messy history in four hard-hitting minutes. Unfortunately, his consistently witty lyrics are only rarely matched by the music, which veers between baroque guitar-work and lame attempts at funk. So while Doctor Syntax is an album with its fair share of sublime moments, it's ultimately far less satisfying than it could have been.

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