Kelley Stoltz’s fourth LP sees the San Franciscan move perhaps irrecoverably further away from his lo-fi origins – given the success he finds with this more textured approach it’s hard to see him returning to something more ‘organic’ anytime soon.

As ever, we are dealing with many 60s reference points. Immediately on opener ‘Everything Begins’ one is put in mind of Randy California’s conceptual rockers Spirit, while on ‘Nearly Lost My Mind’ we have smatterings of Barrett-era Pink Floyd.

That’s not to say it’s all head in the clouds, as Stoltz is indeed capable of writing an attractive bass-driven anthem like the excellent ‘When You Forget’. Sure, most of these songs will not hit the listener on a visceral level, but remain engrossing nonetheless thanks to imaginative melodic turns and lyrics on the non-nauseating side of quirky.

Circular Sounds is a fascinating journey - no classic, but eminently likable. Interesting titbit: Stoltz used to be an intern for Jeff Buckley, and used to sort his fan mail and that.

Barnaby Smith