He is regularly hailed as an inspiration by the likes of Noel and Liam Gallagher, and Chris Martin once called him "the best songwriter in the world", but that didn't stop Richard Ashcroft's most recent album, United Nations of Sound, bombing.
Six years later, he returns with his fourth solo endeavour and seems to be very much back on track.
The former Verve man's use of electronics on Out of My Body and the anthemic Hold On is unexpected but not altogether unwelcome, although he is at his best on the sleek, string-laden indie rock of the title track and the gentle stomp of This Is How it Feels.
Black Lines may recall The Verve's Sonnet a little too instantaneously, but tracks such as Everybody Needs Somebody to Hurt show that Ashcroft still has plenty of solid ideas left in his songbook.
