A collaboration between these two singer-songwriters makes for an intriguing prospect, Vile’s melodic nous and J Mascis-worthy hypnopompic drawl seemingly the perfect complement to Barnett’s pin-sharp observational lyrics. And so it proves on opener Over Everything, a conversation between the two about songwriting set to gently meandering guitar that gradually builds momentum and is as insightful as it’s lovely. Let It Go and Continental Breakfast follow a similar vein, and are almost as good. However, there are lapses in quality control (Jen Cloher cover Fear Is Like a Forest is especially leaden) and they’re rather less sure-footed when they cover each other’s songs – or tackle Belly’s Untogether together. Not the triumph it could have been, then.
