ED HARCOURT

El Magnifico (Deathless)

With El Magnifico, producer and songwriter Ed Harcourt has moved away from the instrumental, cinematic soundscapes of his last, highly recommended album Monochrome To Colour. More accessible than the ‘world goes to hell in a handcart’ vibe of 2016’s Furnaces, it may even appeal to fans of Harcourt’s Mercury-Prize nominated 2001 debut, Here Be Monsters.

With age comes experience both good and bad, and Harcourt’s voice these days seems to go that little bit further now – reflecting on heartbreak, healing and drama, usually in the same verse. Into The Loving Arms Of Your Enemy, with its slow-building piano and glorious chorus, is prime Harcourt – licking his wounds and nailing down one of his best-ever songs in the process – whilst Broken Keys, which features Greg Dulli from the Afghan Whigs and UK folk artist Kathryn Williams, is very much the arresting cornerstone of El Magnifico.

Who knows what direction this restless maverick will go in next, but in the meantime, El Magnifico can battle it out with Here Be Monsters as to which is Ed Harcourt’s most arresting slab of vinyl. 

words DAVID NOBAKHT