Alexander Tucker is set to return in April with a new studio album, Dorwytch.

It’s the follow up to his fine 2008 effort Portal, and comes courtesy of Thrill Jockey. Arguably Tucker’s most accessible LP to date, it’s undoubtedly his most ambitious, with a rich ensemble feel achieved largely through a careful layering of instruments. As ever, Tucker’s voice (at times sounding uncannily like Brian Eno circa Taking Tiger Mountain…) and string parts feature prominently, but synth sequences are also nicely woven in and, crucially, it’s the first time he’s made use of percussion, with input from free improv drummer Paul May. Other guests on the album include singers Duke Garwood and Jesse Bryant, and multi-instrumentalist Daniel O’Sullivan.

The album’s thematic content was apparently partly informed by the work of Alan Moore, particularly (ahem) the ideas of “human/plant matter transcendence” explored in the comic Swamp Thing.

Tracklist:
1. His Arm Has Grown Long
2. Red String
3. Matter
4. Hose
5. Gods Creature
6. Half Vast
7. Pear Relics
8. Atomized
9. Skeletor Blues
10. Dark Rift / Black Road
11. Sill
12. Mildew Stars
13. Jamie
14. Craters