I understand now... Northumbria is the British Appalachia - how could I have been so blind before?

I will admit to going in cynical going into this record and was pleasantly surprised. Maybe it caught me on a sunny day. Whatever the reason, I quite enjoyed myself all told. More than I have on Fender's previous stuff.

This is a belter of an album. It's not just the longing, Springsteen-esque songs, it's a hugely coherent album based on a compelling concept and builds on some of his better work to date. It's punchy, which has been a criticism of mine in the past, and it still fits in some real gems - for me particularly Nostalgia's Lie, Little Bit Closer, and Rein Me In are excellent. Inevitably I think it still suffers a little bit from the songs being a little bit indistinguishable and the lyrics being delivered in a slightly mumbling cadence, but it's a step up from the previous two records in my view, which I checked and I rated a 7 for both, so I feel an 8 is more than fair.