Review: Something of a Liverpool legend, Michael Head's musical story stretches right back to the punk era. Since then he's had spells in The Dance Party, Shack, the Pale Fountains and Egypt For Now. For the last five years, he's fronted The Red Elastic Band, offering up a handful of studio albums and a couple of excellent live sets. Loophole arrives just before the release of his autobiography and largely features reflective, wistful and thoughtful songs spiced up by expansive arrangements, sinewy strings and - more occasionally - heady horns. The plentiful highlights include the cheery jauntiness of 'Ciao Ciao Bambino', the lilting, slow-motion headiness of 'Shirl's Ghost', the semi-acoustic, Latin-tinged loveliness of 'Connemara', and the bluesy late 60s Beatles flex of 'The Human Race'.
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