Homesick Uncut Magazine June 2001

Deacon Blue  Homesick (Papillon) ***

Real gone kids back with first new album in eight years.

Like his compatriot Mike Scott, Ricky Ross' Nineties career away from the much-loved Eighties band that made him failed to ignite, despite a couple of fine solo albums. When the new millennium found Scott reforming the Waterboys and Ross putting Deacon Blue back on the road, it smacked of desperation. Yet both reunions have resulted in fine records. Songs such as the gorgeous 'Everytime You Sleep', 'Now That You're Here', the haunting title track and the soft-edged but spirited rocker 'Silver Lake' have that Deacon Blue jauntiness-tinged-with-melancholia, like a late summer's day that reminds you that autumn is round the corner. These days, they're more Radio 2 than Radio 1, but this is easy listening in the best sense.

Nigel Williamson