Part-time punk and former Mekon gone the way of America, Jon Langford released his new book 'Nashville Radio' and 'Gold Brick' album on the same day. 'Gold Brick' endorses an Americana dangerously close to FM-rock bombast yet again, but thematically it sooner resembles the smooth sarcasm of, say, Morrissey. Unsubtly subtitled 'Lies of the Great Explorers' or 'Columbus at Guantanamo Bay' you get a good idea ofwhere Langford is at (still). Alas, there's more venom in the concept than there is in the actual music. Thousands of albums like this exist already, and they're probably worse still, but I can't help from nodding off. The cover of Procol Harum's 'Salty Dog' is quite painful to listen to. One of the highlights however is 'All Roads Lead Back to Me' during which Langford finds a nice blend of rawk and self-mockery.He saves some of the best for last, and 'Tall Ships' has a few fine moments where his voice meets the lazy stroll of his band Ship and Pilot. Overall, however, 'Gold Brick' is a bit of an old prick, I'm afraid.