Synaesthesia

Synaesthesia is a new release from the Lush Spa/ECC partnership, led by Simon Emmerson, who's lived in Dorset for the past decade or so. There's a lot of that county in it, or at least its birds. A good half of the songwriting credits should go to our avian friends: the song thrushes, owls and nightjars (especially beautiful balladeers, from Poland) that feature.

The human element features a broad band of players, led by Emmerson and Richard Evans, and with the likes of the late Kate Garrett and Barney Morse-Brown contributing alongside an extensive string section, all beautifully recorded.

It's one of the few albums for which thanks are extended to the masseurs – usually hidden under ‘flowers’ in expenses. Once the first instrumental, ‘The Great Western’, has taken you mellifluously into the soundscape of the west, a series of beautifully recorded pieces unfolds side by side with the ongoing conference of the birds, featuring true ear-worm melodies played on acoustic guitars. It's a dusk-till-dawn journey, with a beguiling minimalist nocturne at its centre. For relaxation purposes, it works very well: I tried it after a hot bath with Poundshop shower gel (Songlines budgets don’t extend to spa sessions) and I was soon floating in blissful hypnagogia.