It was barely a year ago when Drift Code, the most recent Rustin Man album, came out. The newest release from Paul Webb's project, Clockdust, is a continuation of what was on that earlier record, and an expansion of it. And while lots here takes some delightful chances, there's a uniquely English pastoral spirit at work throughout this that, at least in terms of intention, seems similar to that pursued by Webb's old band-mates in Talk Talk.
This newest album opens with the expert chamber pop of "Carousel Days", a waltz-like lurching number that's both beautiful and haunting. Elsewhere, "Jackie's Room" sounds a whole lot like mid-Seventies Traffic, even as "Love Turns Her On" is jaunty enough in its own special way as to suggest something by Nilsson, for lack of a better comparison-point. "Kinky Living" didn't really work for me, but the jazzy "Night in the Evening" did. And the closer, "Man with the Remedy" really grabbed me. This brash mix of prog and post-rock done up like something from an early Genesis album seems on each listen a huge step forward from the already-excellent stuff on the first Rustin Man record.
Clockdust is a remarkable release, and one which, like the best material from Talk Talk in the late Eighties, seems impossible to categorize. There are elements here of multiple genres, but the overall approach is a spry one, with Paul Webb assuredly guiding this towards a goal of making something entirely unique come together and caress the ears.
Clockdust is out on Friday via Domino.
More details on Rustin Man via the official website, and the official Facebook page.
[Photo: Lawrence Watson]