This is John Surman's first solo ‘solo’ record in 18 years and the seventh in a sequence that began in 1972 with Westering Home. Fans of Road To St. Ives and Rev. Absalom Dawe may find this hard to believe but Saltash Bells is even more lovely and moving than they are. In a way, the title track really sums up the whole set. It is a truly special piece of music which adjectives like ‘haunting’, ‘elegiac’ or ‘poignant’ do not come close to describing. Here and elsewhere, marvellous artifice seems to have combined with a playful spontaneity – and even a fortunate serendipity. Take, for example, the harmonica heard in the mix of ‘Sailing Westwards’, an echo perhaps of sea shanties and hornpipes of old, or the swirling mist-like synth patterns behind the reeds of ‘On Staddon Heights’. Even when shorn of embellishment as on ‘Glass Flower’, the music here is rich in texture and profound in emotional affect. Surman's career has been marked by a unique personal vision and integrity. Saltash Bells is yet another highpoint in that life's work.