For much of the 2010s, British musician made dusky, candle-lit music under the somewhat misleading name . His curious, unassuming grooves recalled the 1990s trip-hop/downtempo aesthetic more than anything else being produced at the time, but with slightly more abstract beats and odder arrangements. Since discontinuing the moniker and going by in 2017, he's issued a bubbling pop single with , released an album of lush, introspective hip-hop with / 's , and produced multiple tracks on the acclaimed 2019 debut albums by and . is his long-in-the-making first full-length as , and it's far more organic and introspective than his previous work. Shining a greater spotlight on his skills as a composer and arranger, the album is a mixture of orchestral jazz with subtle electronic touches, and a few ventures into R&B and rap. "Scarecrow," previously issued as a single that provided a taster for 's drastic shift in direction, is a flowing mini-suite with a softly gliding rhythm, tasteful electric guitar lead, shimmering organ, and a slightly knotty web of horns. , sounding a bit weathered and unmasked, does his thing over the metronome-like tick and lightly ebullient, tossing-and-turning strings of "Last Sniff." More dramatic and stirring is the sinister tango of "Killing Crab," filled with sharp, heavy strings that boldly swoop and sway. Once again, he teams up with the always stunning on "Cheater," an intriguing labyrinth of violins, electronic squiggles, and rousing horns. crooner pops up twice, first on the distraught lament "The Boon," then duetting with on the downtrodden but reassuring soft rock ballad "Decades." Even without lead vocals, song titles like "Cures & Wounds" and "Ugly Feelings (Again)" point to levels of deep personal expression previously unreached in 's music. Easily his richest, most complex music to date, is where reaches the sound he's been striving towards. ~ Paul Simpson