The Book of Knots – Garden of Fainting Stars

It must be tough being in The Book of Knots. Between them, they’ve worked with everyone from Sparklehorse to Swans and this third album sees the invitational group calling in a few favours from what reads like the first-pick cast of an avant-garde Come Dine With Me special. Whether it’s original Bad Seed, Blixa Bargeld, adding some cryptic spoken word to Drosophilia Melanogaster’s sparse guitars or their de facto boss Mike Patton being typically obtuse on the ethereal Planemo, they all bring uniquely fanciful spices to the table.

Similarly, each member adds a distinct touch; Garden of Fainting Stars is far from the phoned-in work of some pseudo-side project. This is all about the haunting blends of kindred spirits, hovering somewhere between ghost ship aesthetics and distorted childhood melodies. Even when they kick the volume up a notch on album closer Obituary for the Future, Carla Kilhstedt’s vocals rise up to set the spine shivering. Darkly sublime. [David Bowes]