Forty years since releasing his debut album with The Housemartins and twenty years since The Beautiful South split, Paul Heaton is back with a new LP, Jenius. The fifteen songs find him writing about those universal themes of love, death and politics, alongside his favourite pastime: drinking.
Joining him on lead vocals for the second time is Scotland’s rising Celtic/country star Rianne Downey. With his own ear for catchy, melodic pop, Lightning Seeds’ Ian Broudie is the perfect producer for Heaton. The opening chords of ‘Can’t Get Next to You’ call to mind the late-70s power pop of The Only Ones. The lyrics focus on romantic frustration and the helpless feeling of being unable to reach or charm the person you desire. That Heaton sings “you’re one of life’s temptations but I can’t get next to you” is a clear indication that the title is a deliberate reference to The Temptations song of the same name.
Downey makes her first contribution on the next track, the impossibly catchy ‘Favourite Kind of Idiot’, a song that celebrates and laughs at her partner’s flaws. This was the lead single from the album, accompanied by a quirky little video. ‘I Want the Job’ is a lush country ballad on which Downey’s vocals have the perfect tinge of sadness and longing for a job she might never have. The string arrangement only adds to the song’s pathos. ‘Sad Songs and Lawsuits’ is almost a ska tune, turning into an uplifting song about the bitter end of relationships. Already, Heaton’s band have had to turn their talents to very different styles of music.
Heaton’s previous vocal partners, Briana Corrigan, Alison Wheeler and Jacqui Abbott, were perfect at the time, but surely Rianne Downey is his best yet. The blend of their voices works beautifully on the likes of ‘She Ain’t Pretty’, ‘One Eye Open’ and ‘Go Upstream’.
But it’s the lyrics on the less straightforward tracks that really shine through, such as the message behind ‘Send in the Clowns’, an acerbic takedown of the political class. ‘Do Not Ask Me’ uses the melody from Sonny and Cher’s ‘And the Beat Goes On’ to tell the tale of a man who seems to have gone missing from his own wedding photos, before Downey steals the show on the lively ‘Don’t Lean on Me’. Declan O’Rourke then joins the pair on the mournful stomper ‘The Whisky Did’.
It irks me that I still have to remind people who he is when I tell them I’m going to see Paul Heaton, and I suspect that lack of recognition, despite such a familiar back catalogue, is behind the album’s title and artwork. The black-and-white cover, with his surname writ large, brings to mind Johnny Cash’s American Recordings album covers.
Towards the album’s end, ‘Good for the Bees’ is a ballad complete with a beautiful waltzing outro, while ‘Go Upstream’ showcases once again how naturally Heaton and Downey’s voices complement each other. Then comes ‘A Son A Father’, a stomping glam-rock swipe at whitewashed eulogies. The line “and when you pass the casket/and he’s lying on his front/remember him/a son, a father, husband/and a c**t” ensures it’ll never pick up much radio play.
It should be beyond doubt by now that Paul Heaton is a genius: a master of contrasting bright, catchy pop melodies with dark, cynical and witty social commentary. Jenius has everything that makes him a national treasure. Forty years into his career, perhaps it’s time we finally learned how to spell genius correctly.
Jenius is available to download on all major streaming platforms and can be purchased here,
https://shop.paulheaton.emi.com/
Reviewer: Adrian Cork
On: 28/07/2026
