The misfortunes of this five-piece have been well documented - their collective battle scars include imprisonment, death, cancer and financial ruin - and yet The Charlatans keep plugging on. Their ninth album, Simpatico was recorded away from their familiar studio setting and relocated to Hook End Manor, under the guiding hand of producer Jim Lowe. The result is, for the most part, a solid and straightforward album, with a strange ska element to a handful of tracks (City of the Dead, Road to Paradise).The opener, Blackened Blue Eyes is pure Charlatans - it has a strong UK indie feel, Burgess's throaty colloquial rasp and a dark underbelly to the lyrics. This formula is repeated to good effect in For Your Entertainment, and to a lesser extent in Dead Man's Eye. The main problem with Simpatico is, even in their strongest performances, there is a tapered off and unfinished quality to many of the tracks. The more muscular tunes are weakened by monotonous repetition (Muddy Ground).The ska/reggae element mid-way through the album gives Simpatico a 'mixed-bag' element; suggesting the lads haven't really thought about cohesion, and are happy enough to coast along producing a few radio-friendly pop singles on the way. It seems that although they can still churn out some half-decent, grow-on-you offerings, when it comes to experimentation The Charlatans are incapable of pushing boundaries or starting fires. Even though you know you are hearing the real deal, it is hard not to feel a bit conned by the whole thing.

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