Adrian Crowley - Season of the Sparks

The trees may be bare and the nights all-encompassing, but comfort at least can be found in the fact that people are still making heartfelt and generous records like Season of the Sparks to get us through the long dark months that lie ahead. On this, his fifth album, Irish singer-songwriter and honorary member of Fife's own Fence collective Adrian Crowley delivers the his most accomplished work to date. Pastoral allusions and yearning vocals provide an autumnal feel; a keyboard riff that could have been lifted from an outtake of Strawberry Fields Forever gets the album underway before Crowley intones the melody of Summer Haze Parade. From the hazy melancholy of the Beekeepers Wife to the Smiths meets Nick Drake stylings of the title track, Season of the Sparks is a treasure you’ll be happy to have melting out of your stereo as the throat of winter approaches. [Duncan Forgan]