IT seems scarcely credible that this is the English star’s first new studio album in five years. Far from slaving away in the studio, though, the 55- year-old opted to turn this around in a whirlwind session with master producer Joe Henry. Lyrically, there are less overt politics and protest than Bragg is known for and his voice, often used as the bluntest of battering rams, is unexpectedly tender. The stately roots sound is not exactly revolutionary, but he seems revitalised by it here.

Rory Dollard