Matt Berry ★★★ Blue Elephant ACID JAZZ. CD/DL/LP/MC

The multi-instrumentalist and comic actor takes us on a mind-blowing journey.

As befits a fan of Mike Oldfield, Berry plays all the instruments here bar the hyperactive drums, courtesy of super-sessioner Craig Blundell. We have proggy synths, mellotrons, trebly acid rock guitars, Farfisas evoking the pastoralia of early Floyd, sinister John Barryesque harpsichords, wobbly electronics like White Noise and generous splashes of phasing. Berry also produces with an ear to the sonics of yesteryear. Summer Sun lifts off with a hint of the sunshine’n’smog LA pop of 5th Dimension, and Blue Elephant is imbued with joy and the fun of exploration, particularly the kaleidoscopic instrumental passages. But some vocal sections aren’t as strong. Although Berry strives for a psychedelic effect of “disorientation and distortion”, lyrics like “It’s a drag to be set on fire/I’ve been sacked from the choir/I came back to Bedfordshire”, delivered in his aloof tones, sound more arch and detached. Mike Barnes