Mark Morriss - A Flash of Darkness (2014)

Can it really be twenty years since Mark Morriss first shimmied into our lives as singer with The Bluetones? Apparently so. But thirteen hit singles and three Top Ten albums later, his ability to sieve poetry from the colander of every day life remains unique.

While it might not take Jersey’s finest to track down a copy, it’s fair to say that the release of Mark’s folk-infused solo debut, Memory Muscle, in 2008 was low key, despite string arrangements from the legendary composer David Arnold. However, it wasn’t until The Bluetones split up in October 2011 that he thought seriously about his next move.

“To be honest I didn’t know what I was going to do. “So I threw a lot of irons into the fire.”

The album’s title track was originally written for a short-lived musical project called The Swedish Twins - a collaboration with Matt Berry which lasted for a couple of UK tours but never quite made it to the recording studio. A precursor to his forthcoming new album A Flash of Darkness (Feb 24th) – forthcoming single This Is The Lie is a quiet, reflective tale of self-delusion in which subtle, spiraling, electronics circle a jaunty sea shanty. Some fine percussive quirks punctuate the ode which, at less than two and a half minutes, doesn’t outstay its welcome. As far as introductions to A Flash of Darkness go, This Is The Lie will surely satisfy fans old and new, but only goes so far in setting the tone for the album as a whole…

Elsewhere on the record are rousing crowd pleasers in the shape of the sun-kissed, Jim Bergerac referencing Consuela, the skewed disco-ball charm of Guilty Again, the woozy Space Cadet, as well as surprising covers of The Shins’ Pink Bullets, and an acoustic overhaul of Kavinsky’s electro-noir Nightcall – best known from the Drive soundtrack. Low Company also has the hooves of Neil Young & Crazy Horse trampled all over it.

Talking of the album; “The album title refers to that moment when you’ve just turned off the light and everything remains semi-lit for a split second. It’s a revelation of a bad thing, rather than a good thing.”

Whisper it, but Mark Morriss’ light bulb moment might just have resulted in his best album yet.