The return of James Yuill is a cause for celebration. He has a wonderful knack of bringing together a wistful, folk-like delivery and some up to date electronic sounds, so that songs written in homage to Nick Drake are put on a collision course with bold beats from his laptop. If you give ‘A Change In State’ a few listens you will notice many of the songs making a bid for ‘earworm’ status, and ‘Back To The Sun’ achieves that honour quicker than most. It makes an unlikely but very effective addition to a deep house playlist. As the album progresses so the shadows lengthen, and songs like ‘When In Flames’, ‘Hot Damn’ and especially ‘Two Faces’ explore the dark side to good effect. Yuill is an excellent songwriter, full of lyrical quirks and melodic hooks that stay long in the memory – and if you haven’t enjoyed his music yet then this, his fifth album, is a great place to start.
Ben Hogwood
5 out of 5
