A select few have been aware of Stephen Duffy’s presence in San Francisco music circles since the early 90s, notably with modern rock geniuses Handsome Poets. His latest project, That Man Fantastic, a meditation on maturity, contentment, isolation and faded dreams, continues his tradition of crafting moody evocative pop influenced by – among others - Beth Gibbons, Brian Eno, David Bowie, U2, Nick Drake, and Rinse Dream. Well, if you’re going to have influences you couldn’t do much better than that, and on their new album ‘Pop Music for Art Films’, That Man Fantastic more than live up to them. ‘Second Skin’, a standout track, is distinguished by Duffy’s yearning vocals and trademark circular acoustic guitar patterns. Many of the songs are haunted by liberal applications of reverb and a shimmering moodiness courtesy of Brother Jack Elder’s guitar work, notably on ‘She who is always in my Thoughts’ a touching tribute to a constant companion. In fact there are lovely guitar touches all over this beautifully produced album; check the spooky musings of ‘Electricity’. Instrumentally there is much else to admire, including stirring melodic bass courtesy of David Brooks, and some lovely piano work, for instance on ‘Layer upon Layer’, Stephen, have you been taking lessons on “the old joanna”? Nice one. There are many surprises on this album. Listening to ‘The Prayer’ TMF even seem to have created a new genre – ambient alt country-rock! And if that sounds weird, wait till you hear it…I have feeling you’ll be impressed. Fans will enjoy spotting influences here, but then there are some songs, like ‘Or all 6’ and ‘Whenever I See the Sun” (quite often in California, I’d have thought!), which are pure Stephen Duffy. I can’t explain what that means, you’ll have to listen for yourself. After listening to ‘Pop Music for Art Films’ I was rather pretentiously reminded of T.S. Eliot’s poem ‘Little Gidding’, where Eliot writes: ‘We shall not cease from exploration/ And the end of all our exploring/ Will be to arrive where we started/ And know the place for the first time’ It really feels like Duffy and his cohorts have effected a kind of homecoming on this record. The cover photo shows band members relaxing on a couch in the middle of the sidewalk, a comfortable if somewhat unusual location which sums up the feeling of much of this album – cozy and welcoming, yet spacious and occasionally edgy. Celebrating the mystery of creation and a love reborn, ‘Pop Music for Art Films’ is Stephen Duffy’s finest hour…so far.

a well crafted, well conceived, album. a must have for those hungry for something outside the overplayed, over-hyped, selections on the radio.

The songs on this beautifully produced CD have tremendous power without being overpowering. The simple melodies and hypnotic layers gently make their way into your memory with repeated listenings. Elegant, meticulous stuff -- the very best in mood music!