THE SORCERERS レコード& CD

Review: Leeds post-punk mystics The Sorcerers deliver their latest album-length aporia, I Too Am A Stranger. With the compositional vision and timeless lines of bassist Neil Innes, truly rare grooves from drummer Joost Hendrickx (Gott Street Park, Eddie Chacon) and a little cosmos of tones and melodies from reed, flute, vibraphone and keyboard player Richard Ormrod - with the up-and-coming Leeds trumpeter Olivia Cuthill chosen to augment the brass sections and regular collaborator Danny Templeman filling out the percussion palette - the overall five-piece lay down nine instrumental funk eccentrics, drawing on everything from classic Ethiopiques, to the chanbara soundtracks of Fumio Hayasaka, to the oddball genius of Moondog. An implicit dedication to cosmopolitanism in album form.

Review: While initially inspired by some of the greats of Ethio-jazz, Leeds outfit The Sorcerers has recently expanded its repertoire to include sounds inspired by 1960s/70s soundtracks (particularly those by Ennio Morricone and Roy Budd), obscure Italian library music and Blaxploitation funk. The band's latest album riffs extensively on these vintage influences, delivering an "original soundtrack" to an imaginary film inspired by a headline in The National Geographic. It's a wonderfully atmospheric and evocative affair, with all 12 tracks sounding so authentically vintage and emotive that they could easily have been made and released 50 years ago. Whether you've checked their previous releases or not, this is well worth a listen.