Fink - Perfect Darkness [ZEN170]

Label: Ninja Tune 

Fin "Fink" Greenall is an atypical singer-songwriter, inasmuch as he DJed for the dance label Ninja Tune in a previous life before radically changing direction in 2006. Since then, he and his self-titled band have crafted softly-spoken acoustica that makes a feature of his lulling voice – it's in the same beguiling ballpark as Jose Gonzales and John Legend – and contemplative guitar/drum/string arrangements. His fourth album often achieves such loveliness you don't want it to end. An organic warmth prevails on even the most emotionally chaotic songs – delicate fingerpicking and squeaking guitar strings sweeten the scathing Honesty ("True colours/ You got so many, baby, you're like a fucking rainbow"), while his hungover rasp on Berlin Sunrise paints an oddly seductive picture of the new day. Even better, once his mumble is deciphered on the skeletal Delta blues ambler Wheels, it reveals his passion for his hometown, "old Bristol city". What a delight.