Colman's keen musical intelligence is everywhere in evidence on this much anticipated new studio recording. One of the particular strengths of the collection is its refusal to be corralled by convention: song structures are never hitched to standard verse-chorus forms but allowed to unfold as the narrative arc dictates – and the circuitous nature of a number of the album's fine originals, notably ‘What We're Made Of' and ‘Dreamer’, is very much part of their appeal. The instrumentation, too, inexorably draws the listener in, from the elegant legato playing of the Carducci Quartet (the sunny album opener ‘It Begins’ is a highlight) and Pursglove's switching between flugel and trumpet, to the fulsome timbre of Steve Banks' baritone guitar (on ‘Heartsafe’), Adriano Adewale's varicoloured percussion and the seraphic vocal harmonies provided by Emilia Mårtensson, Anthony Marsden and Nick Dover. At the heart of it all is Colman's unfailingly beautiful, richly expressive voice. Further treats include imaginative reworkings of Joni Mitchell's ‘All I Want,’ plus Bill Frisell's ‘Strange Meeting’ featuring new lyrics by Colman and Hannah Hind, the coda of which achieves spectacular liftoff.