Singer, songwriter, novelist, and painter Kathryn Williams releases her new album Night Drives. The collection explores a more filmic sound, with a larger ensemble of instrumentation, particular emphasis on the strings and production from Ed Harcourt.

Journeying from leftfield contemporary pop to soft acoustics, Kathryn Williams uses her latest LP to explore a variety of fresh ideas driven, in part, by a host of collaborators. Kirsty Logan, Oystein Greni, Romeo Stodart, Matt Deighton, Simon Edwards, Yvette Williams, Neill Maccoll, Andy Bruce, Ida Wenoe, Joel Sarakula, Emily Barker and John Alder all have credits on various tracks across Night Drives.

Her first official album since Hypoxia in 2015, Night Drives opens with some of Kathryn’s most immediately electronic tracks to date, the nihilistic ‘Human’, big ballad ‘Answer In The Dark’ with all it’s bold, layered production, and the dynamic, infectious ‘Radioactive’. Elsewhere on the likes of ‘Moon Karaoke’, ‘Magnets’ and ‘The Brightest’, a more cinematic sound is explored; slowly unravelling stories backed by delicate acoustics and elated, emotive string pieces. ‘Put The Needle On The Record’ and joint closers ‘Starry Heavens’ and ‘I Am Rich In All That I’ve Lost’ are relaxed and fall into the more traditional world of folk inspired melancholia. Kathryn’s inimitable charm colours the whole album with emotion and affection – occasionally brooding, always likable.