After an extended and clearly productive US jaunt, local favourite Jordie Lane returns to our shores for the release of his second long-player Blood Thinner. After wowing listeners and proving himself a serious home-grown talent with 2009’s Sleeping Patterns, Lane has opted for a decidedly more stripped-back sound, with the entire album home recorded to a small four-track in motel rooms, basements and garages, while baking in the heat of the Californian desert.

Embracing the folk, country and gospel staples of the Americana sound which Lane has so clearly been immersed in, it’s a tactic which works to great effect, creating stark atmosphere and space, and allowing Lane’s considerable gifts as a storyteller to really come to the fore. Lane is one to watch.