Paul Haig

If Paul Haig is anything, he’s persistent. Since his legendary post-punk outfit Josef K disbanded in the early ’80s, the Scottish songwriter has released numerous solo works and collaborations. But as prolific as he’s been, he’s yet to make a record that comes anywhere close to topping 1981’s The Only Fun in Town, Josef K’s only proper full-length. And the same can be said of Haig’s tenth solo effort, Go out Tonight. Like much of his post-Josef K work, the album makes heavy use of electronic textures and this time out, some old post-punk moves as well, such as funked-up bass lines, angular guitar riffs and nasally, tightly wound vocals. But while Haig’s rock moves sound as fresh as always, the electronics are trapped in the ’90s — in a bad way. Too often, the dated trip-hop-style tactics take away rather than add to Haig’s left-of-centre pop. Perhaps Go Out Tonight could have worked at the height of ’90s electronica but in 2008, it’s awkwardly out of place.