Album Review: Ed Kowalczyk - The Flood And The Mercy

Ed Kowalczyk's second solo effort is difficult to separate from his work as the hugely popular frontman of Live, and a cover shot recalling The Dolphin's Cry video clip imagery does him no favours. The Flood And The Mercy is solid enough – rock-heavy, melodic, musically dynamic, intensely lyrical and even epic in the alternately banging and gentle twists of album highlight Take Me Back and the guitar work of R.E.M.'s Peter Buck throughout – though there's not a great deal of new ground broken. If it ain't broke…