DM Stith's 2009 debut Heavy Ghost was one of that year's most striking records: a collection of bittersweet, plaintive songs underpinned by the Sufjan Stevens-endorsed artist's lovely falsetto. Writer's Block, a collaboration with John Mark Lapham on The Revival Hour and a spell in Stevens's band took up the time between then and the release of his second album.
Here, Stith works with producer Ben Hillier on songs where the electronic crunch and clatter are often more promenient in the mix than the melancholy. Indeed, there are times when it seems as if Stith has decided to take a back seat to allow the machines move frontstage.
But for every sonic rattler such as Rooster or War Machine, tracks where the electronics are fully unleashed, there are less frenzied and dense tracks such as Summer Madness, where Stith foregoes the wall of sound and his voice guides you along.
