Leyland Kirby

Almost 40 minutes of incredible, original, completely unsocialised brilliance sounding somewhere between Vangelis, Armando and John Carpenter** The third volume of four in this incredible series, beamed direct from the depths of Berlin onto vinyl. Our maverick protagonist again looks to the future mindful of the past, following a twisted trajectory from imagination to realisation which would leave lesser artists and musicians exhausted (or in need of drying out). But as we all know, his lifestyle and cathartic sonic processes are not in vain: for many this series has provided some of the greatest material of an already crazy career. On vol.3, we dare say he's produced one of his most unforgettable moments with 'The Watcher And The Watched' - a mind-burrowing and Kafkaesque arrangement of overdriven machine rhythms and intuitive melodic narration that feels like Morton Sherman's long lost crypto-Tech side-project with James Stinson. There's also the profound highs of 'The Start Of Wars And The End Of Eras', an unending nitrous blast of chromatic chaos and ghoulish chorales, but they're both the most extreme examples, and in quieter, more reflective mode on the midnight drift of 'Fleeting Modern' or the ambiguous anguish of 'We Might Just Lose This One' his sodden soul is tangibly more bruised and tender. It almost goes without saying - so check the clips if you don't believe us - but this record is nothing short of essential. (boomkat)