Alex Izenberg

★★★★ I’m Not Here DOMINO. CD/DL/LP

Now you see him: Los Angeles singer-songwriter makes his presence felt. There’s something unnerving about the title of Alex Izenberg’s third album, a suggestion of disembodied lurking, intimations of Syd Barrett’s Jugband Blues self-erasure. The songs, however, ostensibly seem committed to solidity and substance. Lush string and woodwind arrangements (courtesy of Dirty Projectors’ David Longstreth), opulent imagery and a debt to classic rock songwriting – CSNY, Harry Nilsson – build a strong decorative exoskeleton around Ivory or Gemini Underwater. Yet Izenberg’s downbeat voice (curiously reminiscent of Gruff Rhys at times) is well-matched to themes of vanishing love and slow loss, while the gorgeous chamber-pop of Broadway, Juniper And Lamplight’s soft piano lament or Sea Of Wine’s meandering hush seem to dissolve as you listen. There’s no missing I’m Not Here

– it’s too beautiful for that – but like the love that flits through these songs, it’s not always easy to hang onto.