It's hard to believe that it's been twenty years since Mark Morriss first sang with The Bluetones? Thirteen hit singles and three Top Ten albums later, his ability to sieve poetry from the colander of every day life remains unique. A Flash of Darkness is Morriss's new solo album, released through Acid Jazz Records...

The first thing I have to mention about Mark Morriss's new album is that I had to check my iTunes account on a couple of occasions to make sure I wasn't listening to an old Nik Kershaw album that had somehow passed me by. Not only are they vocally pretty similar, but the upbeat and catchy music and lyrics are very reminiscent of Kershaw's output in the '90s.

A Flash of Darkness is, ironically, a glimmer of light in an otherwise currently rather dry indie market. The album’s title track was originally written for a short-lived musical project called The Swedish Twins - a collaboration with Matt Berry which lasted for a couple of UK tours but never quite made it to the recording studio.

Morriss includes two covers on this album: The Shins’ 'Pink Bullets', and an acoustic overhaul of Kavinsky’s electro-noir 'Nightcall'. Oddly enough, I found these the weakest tracks on the album.

The album contains 11 tracks (44 min) with personal highlights including the title track 'A Flash of Darkness'; 'Consuela'; 'Guilty Again'; and, my personal favourite, 'Sleep Song' which has an incredible clarinet solo.

Once again Morriss delivers the goods. A Flash of Darkness is well worth picking up.

9

Nick Smithson