West

Together, the two have created something so flawless and shimmering, you actually question its tangibility. But West is undoubtedly real and a truly phenomenal piece of work.

Eitzel remains one of the most transcendent figures on the musical landscape.

'West' is a seamless soundtrack to the uneasy world of middle age where all that lies ahead is toothlessness, impotence, incontinence and death. Top tunes, though.

Eitzel's vocals, wounded as ever, wistfully echo Elvis Costello echoing Chet Baker. Even on the jauntiest, Bucked-up tracks, the singer stubbornly refuses to give up his funk, resulting in unhealthy romantic obsession set to organ-drenched '80s teen-beats

He'd be wallowing even deeper in his misery if he weren't such an accomplished lyricist, his wounded sincerity spiked with the darkest, drollest humor of any misanthrope this side of Morrissey.