Jacob Collier
★★★★
The Light For Days
HAJANGA/INTERSCOPE/DECCA. CD/DL/LP
The Grammy-laden polymath declutters.
What would Jacob Collier have sounded like if he had grown up in an era before Cubase and Logic Pro? This stripped-back album offers a clue as he ditches the gizmos, guests, choirs and clutter of his Djesse project. The result is closer to a singer-songwriter wowing the open-mike night at the Dog & Duck than the whizzbangery of recent arena shows. Respectful covers of John Martyn, John Lennon and James Taylor mingle with heart-on-sleeve originals that don’t sound shabby by comparison. Only occasionally does he overreach – as when he multi-tracks the Beach Boys’ Keep An Eye On Summer into a smudgy blur. Lyrics can be a puzzle too, as in “Light up the stove of your countenance”, or “I’m going to… hold your hand like a big balloon”. Fans though will forgive all (as will some Collier sceptics) for the soaring, phones-aloft ballad Something Heavy that closes the album – and no doubt arena shows to come.