Best known to musical cognoscenti as the guitarist for the short-lived but much beloved YOUNG MARBLE GIANTS, STUART MOXHAM has 30 years of solo records (plus the G!ST, which is essentially a solo project) to his name. The Welsh native samples some of his past work on Personal Best, a sort of calling card for his new, self-willed label. It’s a wide-ranging collection, lifting tracks from his four prior solo records, a forthcoming mini-LP, the album Barbara Manning Sings With the Original Artists (to which he contributed several tunes) and a batch of unreleased cuts, including some recorded in Chicago with that city’s indie rock mafia. The personnel and locations may be diverse, but Moxham stays true to his vision of smart, gentle pop songs like “Cars in the Grass,” “It Says Here” and “Untitled #2” (featuring BARBARA MANNING). Gentle, mind you, doesn’t necessarily mean saccharine – three of the catchiest, most winsome tunes revel in romantic sardonicism (“Vampire of Love”), bittersweet melancholy (“No More Words”) and angry snark (“Save It”). Some of his work verges on cloying – cf. “Baby’s On the Way” and “Last Train to Barry” – and his more experimental work a la “Settled Hash” and “Instru(mental) #1” errs on the side of mildly irritating. But they’re worth inclusion just to prove that Moxham’s diamond has many facets. Excellent more often than not, Personal Best spotlights a talent that’s flown under the radar for too long.
