ZERO 7

Necessity, so they say, is the mother of invention. It's a sentiment with which Zero 7, one of this decade's musical sculptors par excellence, would doubtless concur.

Having spent the best part of a year touring their last album, When It Falls, which, along the way, saw them transformed into a vast, super slick, group-like behemoth, Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker felt the need to create a new reality for their third album of beatific tales, The Garden.

The result is an unqualified success: instantly recognisable, and yet, beguilingly fresh, The Garden is a freewheeling and evocative piece of music. Benefiting from a more focused approach there's only two collaborators, long-time cohort Sia, and future folk sensation Jose Gonzales it clearly serves notice of Zero 7's talent for eking out sunshine-soaked ambient soul.

From the gentle British folk tones of Left Behind to the mesmeric sonic tonic of This Fine Social Scene, there are thrills and spills aplenty at every turn. Your Place betrays a sly nod to the symphonic grandeur of David Axelrod and the jazz stylings of Roy Budd; the instrumental Seeing Things is all woozy, cinematic French electronica and the exotically titled The Pageant Of The Bizarre is nostalgic chamber pop.

Beautiful; informed; an infectious mix of the synthetic and authentic. Welcome, then, to Zero 7's garden: we think you'll like it there.

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