Swee Tooth has released a second concept album of music that tells its own story as well as acting as an impressive mixtape of the artist's varied musical talents.

I love concept albums. We don't get many of them in for review, which is a shame, as they're like a musical representation of the creative talents of the composer, allowing them to dig deep into their soul and create something truly personal.

If you'd asked all of my favourite soundtrack composers (John Williams, James Horner, Jerry Goldsmith, David Arnold, John Barry, Alan Silvestri, Abel Korzaniowski, Guy Farley...) to compose the most melancholic, heartbreakingly beautiful theme they could ever conjure up and then release these tracks as an album, it would probably sound a little like Swee Tooth II.

For the last three weeks, when I've supposed to be reviewing other albums, I've been drawn back to this this. It's inspirational, soul searching... and just plain essential listening.

Of this album's 12 tracks (34 min, 38 sec) personal highlights include 'Kingdom' (which is similar in style to Ramin Djawadi's highpoints for Prison Break); the beautifully slow build of 'Dawn'; and 'Rebirth'. It's a shame that orchestras are so expensive to hire as I'd love to hear how this would sound if it were orchestrated.

Why I think this works so well is that it's incredibly diverse - not just in its composition, but in the way each track is presented. So we have the feel good family movie vibe of 'Home' buffeting up against the electric guitar riffs of 'Lead'.

I've listened to this so many times, but on each occasion I find a nuance or a segment that I missed in previous play throughs.

I can not recommend this album enough. Listen out for Swee in the future. Hollywood will come calling very soon.

10

Darren Rea