On his 2023 album
I Thought I Was Better Than You
,
Baxter Dury
turns his trademark louche rambler persona with a line on late-night, neon-slicked grooves one twist to the left. With the help of producer
Paul White
-- who had worked with
Danny Brown
and
Charli XCX
in the past --
Dury
turns his gaze to the privileged, fame-adjacent upbringing he enjoyed/suffered and sets his self-lacerating musings to a R&B- and hip-hop-inspired sound. To get the desired effect,
White
took
's homemade demos and gave them a polish. The result is a smoother, more relaxed backdrop for
's spleen venting and toxic reminiscences that focus on the strange benefits that came with being the son of a well-known musical icon. He doesn't spare himself much here, and the results can be a little bleak, something
knows all too well, and as in the past, much of the sonic landscape is taken up by sweetly sung choruses. These angelic commentaries are delivered here by a new cast of characters that includes
Eska Mtungwazi
JGrrey
, and
Madeline Hart
. They play their roles perfectly, and
's eye for collaborators is as sharp as his wit. As usual, that's very, very sharp, and to that end there are a sackful of memorable lines, rhymes, and asides to be found on the record. "Burger King trousers" and "kettlebells in the stairwell" are two fine examples of the kind of language not usually found on pop records, but they are the kind of gems that drop from
's lips like they were nothing. The choice this time out to adopt more of a hip-hop and R&B influence was a good one, and he and
make it work without lapsing into rip-off territory. Though his passion for the sound is evident,
never seems like a poser. As he says, he might want to sound like
Frank Ocean
, but he always ends up sounding like
Ian
.
, that is. And like himself, now. In fact, after releasing as many excellent albums as he has over the years, and forging a path that's truly unique despite the resurgence of blokes and birds talking over indie rock,
deserves to be considered fully free of his father's shadow. Maybe after releasing this subtly brilliant and pleasingly scathing album, he'll finally believe it too. ~ Tim Sendra