To listen to Murmuration is at first to feel as though you've stumbled into a fringe theatrical performance, so dramatic is the vocal delivery of Steve Day in particular. Whether this is a good or a bad thing is, of course, a matter of taste; what is not in question is his distinctiveness as a recording artist. If there are moments that are reminiscent of fringe theatre, there are others when he comes across as a hitherto unimagined fusion of Tom Waits, or Vic Reeves doing his club singer routine. That sounds absurd but, somehow, it isn't. As the album unfolds, the accompanying musicians, together with Day's co-vocalist Julie Tippetts, glide into the foreground, their entirely improvised contributions sparked by Day's prepared poems. Tippetts is a standout presence, as is her husband Keith on piano; Peter Evans on five-string electric violin is on startling form too. An album, to borrow from Lawrence Ferlinghetti, that constantly risks absurdity. It's worth it.