The Backwards Life of Romeo

AMG Review of The Backwards Life of Romeo

John D. Luerssen
All Music Guide

On the heels of Revisited, 2003's expanded reissue of The Original Sin, itself a fusion of /p>

ew wave and /p>

ew romantic styles that first surfaced in 1979, Cowboys International brainchild Ken Lockie jump-starts his left-for-dead troupe to unveil The Backwards Life of Romeo. With a vocal delivery reminiscent of Hugh Cornwell, Bryan Ferry, and Lloyd Cole all at once, Lockie launches the set with "Strawberries," a song that sounds like it's straight out of 1985, as evidenced by its buoyant keyboards and crisp drumming. Elsewhere, the title track is similarly quirky, but Lockie's cast of Cowboys fares much better when brooding. The romance-addled "Hold On Me" and the melancholy "Silent Sky" are standouts on an album that is otherwise pretty much hit or miss.