Review:
”Tilbrook…spent most of his musical career as the voice and co-songwriter [along with Chris Difford] of Squeeze, whose uniquely British brand of quirky, sophisticated pop/rock helped make radio listenable in the 1980s. Something of a late bloomer in the solo arena, Tilbrook put out his first album under his own name in 2001” HE showing that “splitting from…Difford rejuvenated” STE him.
”Transatlantic Ping Pong (named for its bi-continental recording process) displays a more mature but no less inventive Glenn Tilbrook.” HE “Simultaneously looser and more focused than Incomplete, Transatlantic finds Tilbrook returning to the hooky, direct power pop of the best Squeeze albums, but instead of sounding like a retread or a last grasp for glory, he sounds comfortable, as if he knows this is the sound that suits him best.” STE ”The herky-jerky New Wave feel of vintage Squeeze is replaced by a more relaxed approach that allows the elegantly constructed melodies to breathe a little.” HE ”It sounds like he's having fun, and that's the sentiment that rules the album. It's not just that the music is bright and catchy…it's that the songs themselves are often larks.” STE
”A few songs explore some regret over the past — most notably on Hostage, where he meets up with a former lover/partner, and Domestic Distortion, where he comes to grips with his adult child — but they're surrounded by songs filled with jokes. While some of those display the trademark dry wit of Squeeze, more often than not these are dirty, filthy jokes, like rewriting a country standard for The Genitalia of a Fool and turning on a disco beat for Hot Shaved Asian Teens, which may not be any more vulgar than a typical spam e-mail, but certainly is a bit of a shock coming from Tilbrook. But that kind of boozy, good-time humor is evident not just in the words, but the raucous, full-bodied performances that make Transatlantic Ping Pong a joy on the sheer sonic level. Plus, those off-color jokes are tempered by the fine craftsmanship” STE and “direct, emotional lyricism” HE “of songs like Untouchable and the bittersweet Ray & Me.” STE On the former he “seeks to breach interpersonal gaps” HE and on the latter “he reminisces about childhood friends.” HE
This is “a seamless bit of popcraft;” HE this is “the sound of a top pop tunesmith working at full strength.” STE Tilbrook’s second solo outing “winds up as his most likable and alive record in quite some time.” STE
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