This particular Northern light has lent his distinctive guitar and vocal style to a host of collectives and collaborators over the years –from Snow Patrol and The Reindeer Section to Juliet Turner and Ursula Burns. In solo singer-songwriter mode he spreads his talents more broadly bringing a wide range of influences to bear on his third solo release. Taking its cue from the likes of the Velvets, Neil Young, Yo La Tengo and My Bloody Valentine among others, Flood The Tanks weaves magic in spades.
If the lyrical themes are at times disquieting and unsettling, the melodies are, for the most part uplifting. The rustic charm of the Elliot Smith-like ‘Does This Have A Name’ and the gorgeous acoustic guitar textures of ‘Boy Boy Boy’ are just two early highlights. He brings ethereal harmonies to ‘Not Yourself’, while chaotic dissonance underpins ‘I Wasn’t Drinking But You Got Me Drunk’. ‘Elsewhere, the chugging guitars of ‘Summer Jets’ recalls the sonic spirit of Joy Division’s ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ blended with the Strokes rhythmic charge. With its ever-changing moods ‘The Shadow’ is the most ambitiously constructed piece here while the album’s closer – the bittersweet but appealing ‘That One You Always Do’ boasts a nice trumpet arrangement.
A lo-fi, low-key, unassuming affair, Flood The Tanks won’t have radio programmers tripping over each other to slam it on the A-list, but you could do a lot worse than give it a chance.