COLIN MOULDING
THE HARDEST BATTLE
CD SINGLE
BURNING SHED
Incredibly, after some five decades plus of recording, this is Colin Moulding's first actual solo release bearing his moniker and no-one else's (bar a credit, here and there). Sure, there was the ska-tinged rocky roustabout Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen 7" issued as The Colonel in 1980 and his more recent TC&I project (both with drummer Terry Chambers). But here it is, a bonafide slice of new solo material to savour without the former XTC accoutrements.
True to form, The Hardest Battle is a poignant soul-searching song that deals with the human struggle of having to be something you're not and being a little less than the sum of your parts. Lyrically inspired by an excerpt by E.E. Cummings and musically leaning towards the same jaunty lineage as Frivolous Tonight, Fruitnut and Say It, Moulding's trademark simplicity makes the song less obvious and more complex as repeated plays demonstrate to these ears. It's gentle clockwork rhythm builds into a plaintive hum-along dressed up with a few guitar flourishes, mock brass and lengthy single-note fade-out. It's a romper not a stomper and as refreshingly satisfying and down-to-earth as a mug of builder's tea and an egg sarnie.
The aforementioned Say It pops up as its b-side in a somewhat rejigged form, while an early demo of The Hardest Battle rounds off this brief, long-anticipated but marvellous EP.
