The Duckworth Lewis Method: Sticky Wickets

One concept album about cricket seems like a stretch, but two? It may seem like a big ask, but Neil Hannon (The Divine Comedy) and Thomas Walsh (Pugwash) have pulled off the unlikely feat with aplomb. Sticky Wickets is an even better album than their 2009 Ivor Novello- nominated debut, with generous nods to ELO (Sticky Wickets), Scritti Politti (the fabulously barmy Line and Length) and beautifully lush orchestration filling out the late '70s vibe of Third Man and Out in the Middle. It's not all playful pomp and circumstance; the understated melancholy of The Umpire exhibits Hannon's remarkable songwriting, every bridge and middle-eight placed carefully but without formality. The lyrical subject matter is irrelevant, really; this is simply an album of fantastically enjoyable pop songs. dlmethod.co.uk
Download: Boom Boom Afridi, The Umpire