Long Wave indie release****

Perspective: it's what Scullion and Sonny Condell (as the band's chief bottlewasher) offer. Long Wave is their first long player in some 27 years: more than a lifetime for many music fans, but their absence has been marked by periods of intense activity. Condell's songwriting always inhabits a dreamscape where lyric and melody trace picaresque routes, fingering almost- within-reach memories, gently evoking life's sensual pleasures with a fearlessness of subjects as diverse as death, wide horizons – and parties. Philip King's vocals are as rich as ever, and Robbie Overson's guitar brings backbone to the mix. King's Lament for Amy is a magnificent mournful air, and Condell's trancelike Come Sunday Morning heralds King's trumpet debut with chutzpah. A heavy-handed production on closer The Whole World Round is a minor gripe that detracts little from Scullion's vistas. A bravura return. scullion.com

Download track:Lament for Amy