Ghostpoet – Some Say I So I Say Light

A progression is evident on Ghostpoet's sophomore album – where Peanut Butter Blues... was more a scattergun of influences and styles, Some Say I So I Say Light has consistency in its corner. Obaro Ejimiwe has lost none of his wit nor love of wordplay, but here the whimsical, nursery-rhyme cadences are all but gone, replaced by an observational spirit of reflection.

Nearly every track is as strong as that debut's undoubted highlight, Cash and Carry Me Home – perhaps down to the influence of co-producer Richard Formby, veteran of albums by Egyptian Hip Hop and Darkstar, or maybe it's simply a natural growth. Tracks like Cold Win and Them Waters are imbued with an elegant electronic melancholy, evoking twilit London scenes. Elsewhere, Dial Tones is an exquisite slice of neo-soul, Plastic Bag Brain employs a spiralling guitar line to hypnotic effectk, while the album's more experimental moments (Dorsal Morsel, the fuzzed-out MSI MUSMID) are equally enthralling. [Bram E. Gieben]