Despite having crafted one of the most gorgeous records in recent years (2003’s ‘Homesongs’), Adem Ilhan seems to have struggled to move out of the curly shadow of Fridge band mate Kieran Hebden (AKA Four Tet), or generate the level of buzz which has clung to other nu-folk luminaries such as Tunng, Devendra Banhart or José Gonzales.
With new album ‘Love And Other Planets’ this finally looks set to change. Deeply rooted in a carbonated-solipsism that drenches the record in buoyant melancholy, Adem opens proceedings with the beautiful ‘Warning Call’, wherein a politely unobtrusive clammer of acoustica builds into the kind of free-wheeling string addled epic that would seem to be adhere to every cliché in the book – yet manages to pull it off with genuine emotion and undisputed aplomb.
Blessed with a unique singing voice that manages to be both glottally blunt and crystalline sharp, Adem maintains the quality throughout; with the likes of ‘Sea Of Tranquillity’, ‘Spirals’ and ‘These Lights Are Meaningful’ worthy of special attention. Intergalactic!
