Album Review: Billy Bragg - Tooth & Nail

For the last 30 or so years, UK singer-songwriter Billy Bragg has been known (and loved) for his powerful political polemic – and for good reason – but this acclaim has tended to overlook the indubitable quality of the love songs which have liberally scattered his albums. Now Bragg is seeking to redress this imbalance, and his new album Tooth & Nail is primarily tackling the personal rather than the political, although in true Bragg fashion these boundaries are quickly (and often) blurred.

Unlike when crafting his last album which primarily involved affairs of the heart – 1988's Worker's Playtime – Bragg is these days a settled family man, so instead of paeans to unrequited love, songs such as Handyman Blues and Swallow My Pride are written amidst the construct of an existing relationship. But of course there's still plenty of societal (rather than overt party) politics which seep into proceedings, tracks such as January Song, Tomorrow's Going To Be A Better Day, Do Unto Others and the Springsteen-evoking There Will Be A Reckoning all arriving complete with a typically thought-provoking message.

On the musical front Bragg acquiesced to the charms of producer (and long-time friend) Joe Henry and allowed him to use his accomplished folk band throughout, and the results are more sonically akin to the Mermaid Avenue sessions conducted with Wilco than anything else from Bragg's long career. Furthermore, he's also started to sing more as his voice has aged and gained in timbre, far removed from his early ragged bark. All in all, Tooth & Nail is one of Billy's best, a collection as cerebral and confronting as it is soothing and comforting.