"In my life I've done things I'm not proud of," croons Lowe in "A Better Man," the lilting, mariachi-tinged ballad that opens the British singer-writer-producer's first full-length in six years. Bearing in mind that Eric Clapton once reportedly sent this former hell-raiser AA literature after they met at a party, you shudder to think what these "things" might be. But Lowe has little to be ashamed of on this finely honed collection, which is as musically sweet â€" on "I Trained Her to Love Me," at least â€" as it is lyrically venomous.

- Clark Collis, Entertainment Weekly