It cannot be said that Graham Coxon has spared himself in recent years. His newfound activity with Blur, and the three soundtracks he worked on, not to mention the project The Waeve created together with Rose Elinor Dougall, are pieces of a mosaic as vast as it is lively in its different chromatic shades. We can therefore forgive the English guitarist for having left his solo repertoire in the drawer for twelve long years, which finally comes out under the name of “Castle Park”, ten songs in which the sound of the Sixties – always them, yes – and the personal reminiscences of the young Coxon.
A double leap backwards, or rather triple, considering that the songs and recordings date back to 2011: the same sessions as “A + E”, so to speak. From the postcards kindly delivered from the past, the more dispassionate and in some ways sincere side emerges, artistically speaking, of Graham Coxon: a passionate musician of an era, of a soundof the possibilities of recalling all this by picking up the guitar and positioning a microphone in front of it.
Basically, the mood it is mostly light-hearted and light-hearted, as evidenced by the first two singles released, “Billy Says” and “Alright”, appropriately placed at the beginning of the setlist, legacies of our mod education. Delving into the album, the issue becomes a little more complex and varied: we move from the rock'n'roll of “When You Find Out” to the shady and reflective atmospheres of “Isn't It Funny” and “Forget Today”, from the Spanish ride “Dripping Soul” to indie-rock naïve of “There's A Little House”, from the fluffy comfort zone of “Easy”, a 100% Coxon-ian piece, to the almost modern classical approaches of “Mélodie Pour Christine”.
“Rediscovered” album which launches the now imminent re-edition of the Englishman's entire catalogue, “Castle Park” translates into music the idea of England reproduced on the postcards on the cover: an idyllic, reassuring and comfortable place, so longed for and perhaps even stereotyped that it becomes real.
06/21/2026
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
