School of Language – Old Fears

Indie pop renaissance man David Brewis takes time out from the day job to return to School of Language. Actually, make that day jobs – his role as Field Music CEO supplemented in recent years by a host of consultancy work for the likes of Maximo Park and Eleanor Friedberger. The follow-up to Sea From Shore, 2008’s debut in this guise, is a defiantly solo work. Arrangements are precision-tooled (clipped guitar, spare beats, Brewis’s reedy alto), the production unfussy, the songs driven by groove rather than melody.

With its sidelong observations and lyrical introspection, there are hints of similarly uncompromising pioneers. Older heads will detect shades of early Talking Heads while the skewed funk of Dress Up suggests Brewis is a fan of Justin Timberlake’s recent work. A single play sucks you in: accomplished and diverting, Old Fears adds up to a fascinating whole. [Gary Kaill]