Arriving in 2002, Graham Coxon's fourth solo album marked a clear step up in both songwriting and arrangement. Baby You're Out of My Mind leans into deft fingerpicking with a nod to early Bob Dylan, while Locked Doors rolls on a loose R&B boogie.
It Ain't No Lie strips things back, its riffs cut from similar cloth to then newly emerging duo The White Stripes. Less DIY than the records before it, the album also features pedal steel from B.J. Cole and keyboards by Louis Vause.
That fuller line-up helps bring its eclectic range into focus. As Graham put it, “I felt free to do whatever I wanted to do. I was expanding my sound and also finding a bit more calm in my songs.” NME called it “perverse, honest and original” in a 4/5 review.
