Anthony and the Johnsons - Swanlights

Anthony and the Johnsons, Swanlights (Rough Trade)

Having all but retired from the buying of pop records, it has to be something of considerable promise to get me interested nowadays and the candidates come from a narrow range of taste.

Art-house would be one of them and although it's a big ask, you just can't be sure that Anthony Hegarty won't regain the highpoint of achievement he did with Bird Gerhl.

Such a distinctive voice, though capable of being both powerful and shimmering, has the drawback of always being distinctive. There is no respite from it. Where the I am a Bird Now album seems to build to that final track like a set conceived as a whole, these songs are in various ways contemplative and wondering, in both senses of the word, but the voice sometimes seems to be the point rather than what it is saying.

Three or four plays and greater familiarity make it more enjoyable, the obvious stand-out , The Great White Ocean, being joined by The Spirit Was Gone and Thank You for Your Love as the more successful pieces, and coincidentally perhaps not the most experimental. Bjork guests on Fletta, a duet that could unfold more with further listenings. This wouldn't be the sort of album one would expect to divulge all its secrets first time out and it is deserving of attention, but it doesn't contain anything to compare with his monumental best.

Some of the orchestration might be by Philip Glass, once or twice the voice suggests the phrasing of Marc Bolan, the eclectic possiblities to be heard in reference points and musical ideas are by no means all from pop and rock music but from a wider catalogue of twentieth century music.

It is said to be a happier album than his previous and you might guess that from reading the song titles but it's not quite as simple as that. Thoughtful, relaxed for the most part and warm.

It is rewarding, attractive music that will be worth staying with for some time.