Ball's second album in a row to obsessively chronicle the aftermath of a romantic breakup (the first was 1996's If Ever a Man Loved a Woman),
Catholic Guilt posits
Edward Ball as the middle-aged, balding, British male equivalent to Lili Taylor's character in
Cameron Crowe's Say Anything, endlessly writing songs about her ex-boyfriend. The difference is that
Ball's songs are actually really good. Starting with the self-lacerating single "The Mill Hill Self-Hate Club," which has the horn-driven groove of an early
Style Council single,
Ball examines the relationship from every possible angle, with leavening doses of dry wit and warm-hearted compassion to balance out darker tunes like the lengthy, almost
Dylan-esque "Docklands Blues." The witty "Controversial Girlfriend," which sounds almost like
Nick Lowe backed with
the Barenaked Ladies, is another clear standout, but nearly all of the album mixes intriguing lyrics with catchy, hook-filled melodies and substantial production. For
Ball, whose albums with
the Times seemed more concerned with fashionable mimicry than emotional directness, this album is surprisingly weighty and thoughtful. ~ Stewart Mason