Gav Prentice – The Invisible Hand

You can appreciate why Over the Wall’s Gav Prentice felt the need to release these songs under his own name, as opposed to incorporating them into the music made with OtW partner Ben Hillman: not only is his solo debut’s stripped-back style a world away from Treacherous’s playful alt-pop, but throughout, The Invisible Band sounds acutely, sometimes painfully personal.

The arrangements are predominantly lo-fi and bare, placing emphasis squarely on vocals that are by turns vitriolic (the spitting verses and howled refrain of Burning Down) and miserable (the self-pitying I Know That). At times, this focus is unflattering, with the aforementioned I Know That becoming one long whine (possibly deliberate, considering its lyrical content, though intent doesn’t make it any less arduous to listen to). But elsewhere, his heartfelt passion is palpable and affecting, with Square Mile’s knotted sadness and the sneering How Are You Sleeping? stirring emotions, albeit in very different directions.