Flit

Martin Green is best known as the accordion and electronica genius from Lau, but he's also a bravely experimental soloist. Two years ago he released Crows’ Bones(a Top of the World in #100), a spooky album about the afterlife, and now comes this new conceptual set, which he describes as ‘songs thematically connected by human movement.’ Once again his co-producer is Adrian Utley of Portishead, who adds guitars, synthesizers and percussion to the wall of dark electronic sounds. And once again, the sonic effects are matched against the cool, pure singing of Becky Unthank, who is joined by a second vocalist, Adam Holmes.

Curiously, many of the songs are collaborations between Green and distinguished singer-songwriters who don’t actually appear on the album. Four tracks are co-written by the great Karine Polwart, including the poignant and autobiographical ‘The Suitcase’ and songs dealing with the refugee crisis, including ‘Strange Sky’, an atmospheric piece featuring brooding and threatening electronica, and the bleak and thoughtful ‘Laws of Motion’. Then there's a song co-written by Scottish singer Sandy Wright, a folky ballad from Anaïs Mitchell and a couple of tracks written solely by Martin Green, including the bleak and atmospheric instrumental ‘Clang Song’. An original, powerful set.