Falling between two stools is painful.

Richard Thompson is way too old, authentic and musically adept to be noticed by the grubby chasers of the ‘new’ Rock’N’Roll. But he’s also way too cool, real, challenging and downright fucking punk to join the flaccid Royal-pleasing Eric Clapton Rock aristocracy.

Which of course means that The Old Kit Bag is a highly-charged collection with some awesome twanging electric guitar and great loose grooves, released by an indie record label – it’ll probably not sell many more than Mclusky for example - yet it still gets a production job like Chris Rea and will be roundly ignored by anyone who thinks that the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are da bomb.

His voice has a similar (not as bad though) vibrato to recent Elvis Costello that makes one imagine he’s trying to impress a singing teacher. But these ambitious, complex songs are worth every effort and should be approached with brain engaged, you know, like it’s a Nick Cave record.