Blur guitarist Graham Coxon’s departure demonstrated that singer Damon Alburn couldn’t quite carry the weight of the band on his own. Coxon’s subsequent solo career continues to show that he took many of the band’s attributes with him. Coxon’s fifth album “Happiness in Magazines” was written and played almost entirely by Coxon and produced by Blur collaborator Stephen Street. The result is sharp Brit pop as informed by punk as it is by Blur keystones such as the Kinks. The disc’s belated U.S. release gets one bonus track, “Right to Pop,” but it’s the remainder of the 12 unfailingly melodic, hook-filled songs that are the album’s biggest selling point.
Best track: “Freakin’ Out,” a power-pop ditty that courses with glam, punk and even metal attitude.
