Man Gone Missing - Beyond Desolate

Whilst the Scottish mutation of dubstep – aquacrunk - explodes around us in a fireball of hype and wobble bass, it’s always astounding to hear a record that confirms the vitality of the blues; the stuff that started it all. Man Gone Missing, aka Simon Currie, has evidently immersed himself. The soul of crackling Robert Johnson records is distilled with 21st century clarity, and the effect is haunting; on the instrumental Creag nan Gabar, the recording is so microscopically clear you can hear the strings buzz off the neck of his resonator guitar. What makes Beyond Desolate extra special, however, is the atmosphere of the recording location, All Souls Church, its reverb bleeding into the songs, and adding a choral purity to Currie’s already arresting voice. This is the best blues release I’ve heard this year; devastatingly sincere, and, thanks to its evocation of church music and Scottish folk, also entirely unique.