SPIRIT OF EDEN

Like the other reviewers have suggested this is a simply stunning album by a band who were cast aside by the vagaries of record company 'wisdom'. Haunted, haunting and beautiful in an often fragile way, this is music in peril. The arrangements of largely acoustic instruments are often in danger of falling apart. But like fine lace the fragility embodies a crystalline vision, intricate skill and artistic transparency. It has been said that great music is not about what you put in but what's left out and the spaces here are sublime as the band teeters on the brink of loose jazz, vague prog leaning, pre-post-rock, art-school meandering. It's all a seamless whole, however and best rewards by letting the whole thing just wash over you in one sitting. If you like it, it's also worth checking out Mark Hollis' only solo album, which too is a remarkable record, and also bass player Paul Webb's collaboration with Beth Gibbons of Portishead. That album - 'Out of Season' by Beth Gibbons and Rustin' Man - is something akin to Talk Talk in that it largely relies on acoustic instruments, though it blends in elements of the British folk revival of the late 60s, such as Bert Jansch and particularly Nick Drake as well as some restrained nods to soul, jazz and Barry-esque soundtracks. Another great album.