MATT BERRY

Music For Insomniacs ACID JAZZ

Somnambulant, ambient 2014 set reissued on vinyl.

While his profile as a comic actor on TV series such as The IT Crowd, Toast Of London and What We Do In The Shadows has risen over the past decade and a half, so has Matt Berry’s work as a quietly prolific and versatile singersongwriter. But while he has dabbled in bucolic folk, chamber pop, psychedelia and even covers of TV themes, on this 2014 album he opted to put down the mic for what he’s described as a tribute to his analogue synth-wielding heroes from the 70s.

As the title suggests, it’s also dedicated to “insomnia sufferers everywhere”, and this two-track album periodically offers a soundtrack to sweet dreams. But given the restless nature of Berry’s mind, it’s unlikely to provide the sleep-deprived with more than a few cat naps before detours in mood demand closer attention, disturbing reveries as they go.

Part 1 swims giddily through ambient synth washes, whispering voices and Moog swirls as it seems likely that the Clangers might make an appearance at any moment, then at other points disembodied, ghostly voices peep out of the woodwork, like our hero has been at the Boards Of

Canada albums before eating too much cheese before bed.

Anyone snoozing their way through the latter third of Part 1, for instance, is likely to have their attention redirected when gentle electronic waves are hit by high winds at around the 15’30” mark and, to the beat of handclaps and distant thundercracks on the horizon, along with children’s cries, gurgling techno angst and anxious brass cacophonies, a crescendo is reached. Once it dies down, though, sun-dappled strains of tinkling Moogs and electronic voices direct the journey back into more soothing pastures.

Then four minutes from the end of Part 2, Berry offers up his most obviously Jarre-ish moment, as a sprightly, spacey synth motif surfaces, which could easily have been an outtake from Equinox. A welcome wake-up call from a gently captivating reverie.