Daniel Clifford – wearing his Amateur Ornithologist trousers – returns with another collection of pop songs that are whip-smart in the best English tradition of whip-smart pop outfits: The Kinks, XTC, Squeeze etc. He’s equally adept at slowing things right down (the beautiful piano ballad ‘A Better Person’) or putting his foot down a bit (the exuberant ‘Hermit Phase’) or letting the spirit of Sunflower-era Beach Boys flood right through him (‘Weird Walking’, ‘Like An Amateur’). One to cherish. DP

Out now on Harbourmaster Recordings