A pretty swift follow-up to 2005's brilliant Gemstones, Jacket Full Of Danger is less upbeat and whacky than its predecessor, featuring bittersweet string arrangements and a more sombre mood.

But this being Adam Green it is still riven with humour, even if it is of the dark and witty kind, a la the album's closing track, Hairy Women, to name but one.

Part of Green's creative success lies in his ability to record simple and effective songs in an 'economic' way. The production isn't lush, exactly, but it is full-bodied enough to lift what would anywhere else be dismissed as lo-fi noodling.

Possessed of a voice deeply rich in tone, Green explores what it can do in the emotional stakes far more on this album than on his previous work, and his use of strings only adds to the overall effect.

While he will jolly things along in a Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers kinda way - as on Nat King Cole, Hey Dude or Pay The Toll - he can and does ease back on the throttle and pour his heart out, as is the case on the sublime Hollywood Bowl and the soulful C-Birds.

Soon this man will get the recognition his sparklingly sharp songs deserve.

Rating:
Released: 10th April 2006
Label: Rough Trade