Until I heard ‘Time of Day’ I was about to write Lost On Campus off as ‘alright, but probably not quite good enough’. And then one of the best acoustic tracks by a UK artist in aaaaages pings out of the stereo and all is saved. It’s always hard reviewing friends’ CDs, and so when Rob handed me this I approached it nervously. I don’t like to criticise – it’s half ruined friendships before – so when ‘Leopards and Spots’ and the EPs title track show weaknesses in his voice and a little naivety in the approach to songwriting, I was a little worried.
But just as the Remarkable Rocket/early Dashboard whispery vocals tail off on track 4, ‘Time Of Day’ comes in with a huge singalong chorus and all-singing, all-dancing gang vocals that makes the track sound like early Get Cape. And if this is the standard Rob can maintain, he’ll go far. As Luke Leighfield has showed, if you practice and work hard, you up your game. Lost On Campus has shown glimpses of brilliance – it’s retaining that standard which is the new challenge.