Decca Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Hands up all of those who expected UK garage legend MJ Cole's first album in 17 years to be an ambient set with neo-classical intentions. While on the surface it may seem like an odd move, he says that it has been "gestating" his "whole life", though in the end he apparently recorded it fairly quickly. Musically, it's well worth a listen, with Cole cannily combining sweeping strings, jazz style double bass, fluid piano solos, opaque ambient chords and very occasional rhythms to create compositions closer in tone to film soundtracks and conceptual neo-classical pieces than the sweaty, soul-fired club bangers he's long been renowned for. Judged purely on musical terms rather than his previous career, it's a hugely impressive achievement and well worth a listen.