BONE - THIS IS LONDON REVIEW

When their leader Tim Booth decided that James had run their course in 2001, many mourned their passing, but, as record sales were declining and they appeared to have run out of creative steam, few thought the decision ill-timed. Since then, Booth has dabbled in acting and crafted this solo album.

One of James's more cherishable attributes was their ability to hop genres, with Booth's distinctive voice offering continuity. Unsurprisingly then, the genre-hopping Bone, underpinned by Booth's voice, sounds like another James album.

Monkey God clatters along splendidly, while Please Fall in Love with Me (a refugee from Booth's 1996 collaboration with film composer Angelo Badalamenti) is Booth at his least sneering and most affecting. Elsewhere, it's packed with twists and turns, cathartic lyrics and Booth's trademark defiant mischief. A commendable achievement.