'Red Tide Opal In The Loose End Womb' - Oliver Wilde

It's always nice to stumble across an artist you've never heard before and be more than pleasantly surprised. This happened to me about an hour ago, and the artist is Oliver Wilde, a singer-songwriter from Bristol.

'Red Tide...' is a blend of avant-garde pop and orchestral magic, 56 minutes of music that is as light and lovely as its title is puzzling (something about menstruation..?). Reading the track names (e.g. 'Stomach Full of Cats'), won't help you work out their meanings, and listening to the tracks probably won't either - Oliver's drawl sleeps below his instruments and at times sounds like a long, sweet sigh. This isn't a criticism - the dream-like haziness of each track is what makes the album so mesmerising, and a lot of 'Red Tide...'s beauty lies in its simplicity.

Oliver is at his most conscious during 'Say Yes To Ewans'; vocals dance alongside drums and guitar, rather than hiding behind them - and sprinkles of tinkered electronics on top make for some ethereal listening. Similarly guitar-heavy is 'Play & Be Saved', making an appearance three tracks down the line - just as you're getting comfy again.

'Plume' is arguably the most dream-like, 'follow-Alice-into-wonderland' track on the album. Wilde croons around a gentle, Asian-tinged orchestra, his murmurs accompanied by those of a female. Like every track on the album, its magic is difficult to fully explain in words - and really, you need to listen yourself. No excuses.