Thee, Stranded Horse - Churning Strides

To describe Yann Tambour, the Frenchman behind Thee, Stranded Horse (and formerly Encre), as 'a male Joanna Newsom' is lazy shorthand but also tellingly accurate. Because not only does Tambour employ that same oddly infantile singing style that has won Newsom admirers and detractors in equal measure, but he also plays his acoustic guitar remarkably like a harp – all repetitive, polyrhythmic arpeggios. This lends his music a haunting, Arabesque feel, bolstered by his equal skill on the kora, an African guitar-like instrument. Tambour sings in English (though the words hardly matter) except on Le Sel, a mournful Seu Jorge-like meditation. Elsewhere, the ten minute Swaying Eel puts the progressive plucking of Radiohead's Street Spirit firmly in its place. One criticism might be that, lacking any kind of percussion, Churning Strides is slightly one-dimensional. But it's rare to find an album of such beauty and reflection in today's shallow climate. [Nick Mitchell]