In which the former Slowdive and Mojave 3 man completes his mutation from shoegaze drone through country/folk, to full on Nick Drake acoustist. Blues they may run the game he sings, referencing a Jackson C. Frank track sung by Drake on his legendary collection of home recordings, passed down from Nick’s parents to a fan after his death, and then from fan to fan with ever diminishing sound quality before eventually finding an official release in 2007.

It’s the Nick Drake of Strange Meeting II / Been Smoking Too Long and shy, sometimes drunken monologues committed to a home recorder, and all the more magical for it. At first it seems a long way from the Slowdive of Just For a Day, but in truth the songwriting craft hasn’t changed, only the instrumentation and production.