Album: Nigel Of Bermondsey, Nigel Of Bermondsey (Pure Mint)

Formerly bassist with Gay Dad, Nigel Hoyle's solo debut suggests he was paying attention during the band's sessions with producer Tony Visconti.

Nigel of Bermondsey is stuffed with panoramic, psych-pop arrangements in which the organs, pianos, guitars and string synths blend to produce a sun-dappled haze of sound, upon which Hoyle's frail upper register floats. At its most basic, on "Man of My Word", the simple piano, subtle melody, and blunt lyrics, Hoyle recalls solo Lennon. Most tracks develop far more florid, enveloping arrangements, though, with the floaty harmonies of "Maximum Wheelie" entirely appropriate to the lyric: "I wish that I could stay, but I'm fly, fly, flyin' away." There are similarities with other psych-pop outfits, from Big Star to Mercury Rev, but the closest comparisons would be with Hoyle's fellow one-man operations. His song about absent friends, "Can You See Them Now?", has a wistful, watercolour beauty akin to Merz, while the charmingly diffident delivery of opener "We Are Strangers" brings to mind fellow multitracker FM Cornog, aka East River Pipe. An absorbing and intriguing debut.

Pick of the Album: 'We Are Strangers', 'Can You See Them Now?', 'How Long Have We Got', 'Maximum Wheelie'