Album Review: Bob Evans - Car Boot Sale

Kevin Mitchell's fifth album as Bob Evans marks the match-point where his solo long-playing output draws even with that of Jebediah, the band he's fronted for the last 22 years.

Much like where fellow former enfant terrible Ben Lee found himself on last year's Love Is The Great Rebellion, Mitchell now occupies a cosy campervan of domesticated folk-pop choonery. Happy Tears is his answer to Lee's gooey and fatherly Happiness, and when on Ron Sexsmith (the title a mere McGuffin for a whimsical nod to a thirsty fan) Evans rolls "He said 'Who?'", he's this close to asking you to catch his disease. From there, the suburban kid kicks it down a notch with only Matterfact adding some crunch to remind of his snotty punk history. It's not that he can no longer jump and gurn, he simply chooses not to.

Holistically then, Car Boot Sale coalesces Kevin '16 — the family man/tour-bus troubadour. There's no snarls of getting wasted, just bouncy banjos (Old News) and a twinkling piano and subtly glistening string section on Race To The Bottom. He certainly seems troubled by the world his children will inherit, but not so much as to want to scare the crap out of them just yet.

With each release, Mitchell seems more comfortable as Bob Evans, perhaps even ready to retire the persona that was 'the singer from Jebediah'. Car Boot Sale still finds him standing ten foot tall and truly on his own two feet.