His first album after Royal Trux split, Neil Michael Hagerty is maybe the closest we’ll get to an intimate, personal set of songs from this inscrutable character. Hagerty’s song writing is often coded, its meanings obscured through layers of reference and irreverence – it’s no surprise when you discover he’s a fan of sci-fi writers like Aldiss, Spinrad and Brunner. But recording entirely by himself, with minimal drum programming and electronics, organ, and that slinky, harmolodic guitar – the riffs here are spear-sharp – this self-titled effort feels surprisingly denuded. “Know That” and “Creature Catcher” are great pop songs, something Hagerty hasn’t necessarily excelled at in the past, but the real meat are songs like “Kali The Carpenter”, and the brooding “Oh To Be Wicked Once Again”, which lifts the melody from “I Come & Stand At Every Door” and makes loose with its provenance. Imagine a rock album heard through the paper-thin walls of a crash pad, and you’re kinda close.

– Jon Dale