Ghostpoet: Some Say I So I Say Light – review

There's a clue to this album's contents in its title – a phrase that suggests a deeper meaning, if only you could work it out. Ghostpoet is a former Mercury prize nominee whose style is someplace between MC and a performance poet. His flow is highly reminiscent of Roots Manuva, but his lyrics lack the rapper's clarity, bending more towards elliptical imagery and phrases that run into each other without much concession to logic. It's a technique effective in creating a mood – something eerie and mysterious – but also limiting when it comes to articulating a message to the listener. Within the same song – for example, in Thymethymethyme – you can get a hint of loneliness ("Maybe it's time to find out where I really want to be") but also a great dollop of balderdash ("See you again soon, straight sand dune, I had overweight dreams of the moon"). The production, by the artist and Richard Formby, is glitchy and melancholy, reminiscent of sounds Bristolian, with nods to Radiohead and Burial along the way. It intrigues, if never quite soars, and reinforces the sense that there must be something going on here, even if you can't fathom quite what it is.