He hit fame and fortune (well moderate fame and probably not much fortune) after being Mercury nominated a couple of years back. His signature sound is gloomily spoken lyrics over equally gloomy electronic music, though it’s quite pleasant to listen to. We’re missing out a whole layer of intellectual input with that thumbnail.
On this new album, he’s ditched the electronics for his touring band so it’s proper instruments, though it’s still a bit gloomy and often sounds electronic as it tends to be repetitive (in a good way).
Given its rather serious nature, it’s quite surprising that we have awoken at several times with tracks — noticeably first track Off Peak Dreams — as earworms, something other more tuneful albums fail to do. Go figure.
We haven’t got a lyric sheet but he seems to tackle serious themes such as homelessness, domestic violence, and love and despair. As well as the catchy hip hop/trip hop, he alleviates the gloominess with song titles such as Better Not Butter and Yes I Helped You Pack.
It’s a really good album that we recommend highly. It’s perhaps for adults only — One Direction it ain’t. We guess he’s not expecting massive sales as he’s had support from the Arts Council England and the Momentum Music Fund. Proper music; you should buy it. An easy reference point: Massive Attack. We’ve been playing this a lot, for pleasure, after writing the review, which is a warmer  recommendation than mere words.