We liked Luke Sital-Singh’s early material but found his last album a disappointment, something that in turn was itself disappointing, as he can be good. He said thank you on Twitter for the poor review, and we’re assuming he was not merely being sarcastic but had a wake-up call, and this new album is really good; his best so far and a world away from the last.

It’s got a sparkle and an energy he previously lacked. People improve at their jobs, or maybe he just lost his mojo.

Rather than go through track by track, the album can be divided into two. There are songs like the opener Dressing Like A Stranger that are merely good songs and there are the standouts.

California is probably the strongest track on the album, with a gentle start but a killer chorus. Rather Be, with its muffled piano, is also excellent, Christina Perri adding some nice harmonies.

Me and God is great, just Sital-Singh gently plucking a guitar and singing about a narrator having a personal relationship with God. He doesn’t answer much, the refrain “So many voices shouting, so much noise, and I’m not listening any more” presumably being God. The narrator likes playing hymns with the Almighty but despairs a little that they’re “always songs about glory and pain… I prefer the instrumental hymns”.

Elsewhere, Can’t Get High is nearly great, Summer Somewhere is a bit Travelling Wilburys and will sound good on the radio and closer The Walk is a nicely downbeat ending.

A nice album of melancholy and intelligent lyrics.

Take a Luke here