IS going acoustic for someone ingrained in rock music the equivalent of a decathlete opting to concentrate on say, just the high jump? The lesser of parts and participation certainly seems the overall impression given by the first foray into the world of solo-dom by Grant Nicholas.

The main writer and frontman of loud and proud, and successful, rock outfit Feeder looks to have gone into the recording studio having checked out power and purpose at the door. Whereas Feeder put the 'rawk' into raucous this diversion into the world of one and largely all acoustic is like listening to aural wallpaper. It goes from floor to ceiling but nowhere really in between.

Nicholas' delivery is strictly one-tone and barely one step away from tedium. It's just someone jangling away, albeit pleasantly and in tune, but it's strictly background. There's nothing to elevate it from the mundane. The tunes are far from memorable, the lyrics sometimes perfunctory and woolly and the overall experience is as satisfying as chewing a cotton-wool sandwich made of white bread.