Claude Speeed – My Skeleton

Releases like My Skeleton ground LuckyMe in a more vibrant, experimental milieu than even their brightly-hued, dancefloor-led 12"s. Composed by Stuart Turner, a member at various times of American Men, Degrassi and Russia, this is a deeply personal, almost beatless collection of compositions constructed from field recordings, laptop jams and esoteric instrumentation, both synthesised and analogue.

Written on a round-the-world sojourn which began after the death of someone close to him, it is a record washed in the acid sting of survivors' guilt, capturing some of the sunlit beauty of the world while revelling in mournful compositions powerfully evoking loss and darkness.

Fragmented vocals deliver a sense of narrative. Strings swell and sweep through the title track; Some Other Guy's processed static is bone-chilling; the reverb-soaked pianos of Tiger Woods nod to the more sombre notes of Mogwai and Remember Remember's journeys into tone and form; the achingly beautiful Taj Mahal is an etherial centrepiece. Magnificent, understated, and beautifully realised.