One record at a time: 287. No-Man - Together We're Stranger

"Together We're Stranger" was released in 2003 and here I am listening to the 2015 remastered version. Unfortunately this pressing suffers from an issue with near constant clicks and pops throughout. I am yet to put these discs through my cheap and cheerful Disco-antistat cleaner, but I'm not convinced it would make much difference.

If this were a normal pop record full of rhythms and busy backing tracks, the additional noise wouldn't be of major concern, but as this is an intimate and atmospheric recording, the surface noise detracts from the experience quite considerably.

I think there is something magical going on here but I haven't yet discovered the key to unlock it. Sometimes an album can reveal itself through repeated listening, but I find that so hard to do in this day and age - so I fear I will never fully appreciate this record. "All The Blue Changes" is probably the most immediate track on here and I guess this is because it is also the only track on the album that creeps above eighty beats per minute. Don't get me wrong, not everything has to be a frenetic dance track, but these songs don't do enough to pique my interest so they can be like wadding through treacle. 2/5