Houses CD

It took Steve Spacek almost 13 years to deliver a follow-up to his acclaimed 2005 debut album "Space Shift". Happily, he's not made us wait nearly as long for "Houses", his sequel to 2018's brilliant, Eglo-released "Natural Sci-Fi". More importantly, it's arguably even better than its predecessor, with Spacek combining his weary, soft-focus and effortlessly soulful vocals with a rich, warm and woozy musical palette full of echoing Rhodes electric piano chords, sci-fi electronics, sub-heavy basslines and grooves that largely - but not universally - tend towards the deeper and more experimental end of the house spectrum. The results are every bit as inventive, enjoyable and forward thinking as you'd expect.