Secret Meeting score: 69

by Dave Bertram

Far away from the psychedelic swarm of limbs and rhythms that accompanied Joy – the record he released with Ty Segall last year – the new offering from the solo project of the former Darker My Love man is a less exuberant affair, full of lo-fi experimentation.

Holistically, this new batch of tracks from Tim Presley resemble an unguarded monologue, allegedly beginning their lives as piano sketches in Cate Le Bon’s winter hideaway in the Lake District. And for an American singer-songwriter, much of the record is bathing in English influence.

The off-kilter, floating keys of I Can Dream You scream of early Soft Machine, the repetitive chorus on one of the album’s highlights, Lorelei, is reminiscent of Pink Floyd-man Syd Barratt, and you could even draw parallels with the effusive, chugging rhythms of Bowie on Neighbourhood Light.  It’s a gentler piece of work of perspective and introspection, with elements of production which at times feel rather lawless, moving shapes and crashing jagged sounds together.

Fifth-track, Lorelei, is the obvious lead single, delivering three minutes of spidery arpeggios, splurges of synth and breathy vocal melodies which draw plenty from the summer sounds of the 60’s. Presley, comfortable is his time capsule, then shoots back across the Atlantic on Until You Walk, scrawling his guitar behind doubled and slightly mistimed vocal takes, wearing that Velvet Underground badge front and centre.

Final tracks Harm Reduction (A: Morning) and (B: Street & Inside Mind) offer a completely different perspective on what Presley has to offer. Catapulting himself a decade or so, these ambient, minimalistic digressions trace concentric loops of sounds which perhaps point at what’s further down the line.

Singing on the title track – ‘Take off your hat and your digital la-la / Take time for yourself / I dare take some time for me’ – it’s worth sparing the time.

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