The Douglas Firs – Happy As A Windless Flag

Considering it was recorded in bits and pieces over a seven year period, Happy As A Windless Flag is remarkably coherent, flowing together with a finely-calibrated sense of pace, tone and atmosphere. During that time, Jesus H. Foxx’s Neil Insh corralled various musicians to breathe life into his solo compositions, and the results are enigmatic and enveloping, with similarities to Deerhunter’s hypnotic alt-pop.

The quality never drops: A Military Farewell appropriates World War 2 paratrooper song Blood on the Risers (in turn an adaptation of civil war marching-song John Brown’s Body) to ghostly effect; The Quickening’s ambient folk triggers unnamed emotions left right and centre; while closer Soporific is anything but – gently soothing but in no danger of inducing sleep. Apparently, recording of his second album is well underway; with Insh’s debut only partially explored after a dozen listens, it’s greedy to crave another so soon, but difficult not to. [Chris Buckle]