This week's CD choice reviewed

David Kitt

Nightsaver Gold Spillin' Records ****

Times haven’t been easy for David Kitt. After some notable successes (award nominations, recording with the Magic Numbers, touring and befriending the likes of Yo la Tengo, Tindersticks and Arab Strap), and releases on various labels, he ended up without a record contract. So Kitt used his newfound freedom to enjoy a luxury not often available to successful artists: experimentation.

Fresh from a spate of DJing and working on his electronic side project Spilly Walker with his brother, Kittser lovingly penned and produced Nightsaver, an exercise in quirky, light sequencing.

The soul of the album is Kitt's trademark easygoing optimism, but this time the electronica that previously hung back comes to the fore, tempered with undertones of Kraftwerkesque retro-house. Learning How to Say Goodbyeis a track like a quiet room with a hidden chamber full of throbbing beats unlocked with a crescendoing synth.

Move It On, the gorgeous opener, has the loose kinetic rhythm of Pale Blue Lightminus the melancholy (it's more Irish summer than Irish autumn). It's Yoursinfuses recognisable Kitt-isms with newer angular sounds, sounding like a premium blend of jangly guitar licks and acceptance.

Some tracks creak under the synths, but added layers give Nightsaver an iridescent quality; it rarely sounds the same twice. Not a perfect album, but it bears the mark of an artist who not only knows how to write a concise tune but can mix with disciplined eclecticism – mixing to enhance instead of diminish. This isn't The Big Romance's dreamer or Square One's romantic, but a lyrically wiser creature.

Hopeful as ever, Kitt shrugs and smiles in the face of adversity . . . again.

www.myspace.com/david kitt

Download Tracks: Move It On, It's Yours, No Truth in Your Eyes