Interview With The Angel

Let’s throw some light on the shadow players. John D. Reynolds you’ll know from his muscular beat science on tracks by his ex-missus Sinéad O’Connor plus Jah Wobble’s Invaders Of The Heart. He’s also co-writer on tunes of the calibre of ‘Visions Of You’ and has collaborated with Nusrat, Eno and more.

His partners are equally accomplished. Caroline Dale scored for Led Zep and Oasis and provided the music for the Jacqueline du Pre biopic Hilary And Jackie, while Justin Adams has been dubbed the British Ry Cooder and received mucho praise for last year’s Desert Road solo album.

Interview With The Angel then, is the second Ghostland album, an exercise in holistic orchestration relieved by a surprisingly bold pop sensibility. Guests include Jane Siberry (‘The Kiss’) and Sinéad (‘Angel’s Eyes’), but the insistent simplicity of ‘Faith In Love’, a warm gem of a song, provides the album’s melodic highlight. Elsewhere, ‘Sacred Touch Of Beauty’ – a catchy Zen violin pumped by an unfussy dance pulse – comes close to Kate Bush circa The Dreaming, a cryptic riddle with a nagging tune. Throughout, the strings favour drama over melodrama.

There are occasional lapses: ‘Calming The Sea’ threatens to fade into the wallpaper, while ‘Burden’ should provide sunset satori à la The Blue Nile but instead comes off as pretty but frigid.

But these are subjective gripes. Interview With The Angel is out on its own, a string-driven hymn thing distinguished by occasional flashes of gnostic pop.