His voice is devilishly smouldering in its spoken-word delivery, the strings add wonderful depth and the female harmonies bring warmth to this outstanding set from the 82 year old.

When the big guns receive gushing reviews for their latter-life output, you’d be forgiven for thinking that journos are just too afraid to be honest in case this turns out to be their last non-posthumous review. If you’ve therefore been suspicious that Leonard didn’t warrant the praise received for is last 4 albums, park those fears coz he’s continuously surpassing our considerable expectations. He’s still our man! "a bleak masterpiece" 5/5 - the telegraph, "sharp, stinging twists casting new and unusual shadows on old themes" 4/5 - the independent.