The Spacebomb house band carries White on its shoulders, the keys, horns, strings and backing vocals lifting his lightly sung vocals and extending the range of its sweep.
Not without its funkier moments, the album has a reflective feel, centred on the bittersweet Holy Moly and the gentle Tranquility, a tribute to Phillip Seymour Hoffman.
But sharp, poison-tipped lyrical barbs are there also, underneath a cottonwool shroud.
• Matthew E. White. Fresh Blood. Domino Records.
• Four stars (out of five)
Single download: Rock & Roll Is Cold
For those who like: Justin Vernon, John Grant, Bon Iver
- Jeff Harford
