Roddy Frame – Surf

A brilliant album in its completeness, with sheer songwriting craft gilding hypnotic harmonies and distilled to perfection. For all forty-two minutes, Roddy is stripped bare, musically, and is as revealing, lyrically, as he has ever been.

The title track is devastating and leaves you drained and lost on that last line every time. The lyrical mastery of 'Big Ben,' 'Abloom' and 'Turning the World Around' is breathtaking. 'I Can't Start Now,' the thematic core of this album, is both cathartic and climactic - a balance only a singer and songwriter with a talent like Roddy Frame's could strike.

This is an album that needs attention. Like anyone who has listened to it, I found its songs bookmarking some poignant moments in my own life. 'Surf' is a masterpiece, a killer, a wonderfully mature work that blossoms on every listen.