Album: Neil Cowley Trio, Radio Silence (Naim)

There's nothing wrong with this third album by the likeable NCT but all the principal ingredients – pianism in the grand manner, catchy hooks, minimal improvisation – were already present in the previous two, and it's hard to say they've really been improved upon.

The opening track boasts a now familiar cod-classical B Bumble and the Stingers-type riff, while the climactic "Portal" is too close to proggy pomp-rock. Some floaty ballads, including a final secret track, do hint at a more ambient-inclined direction.