It’s like a mermaid, but with tentacles. We’re unsure whether Lancashire’s Steve Whiley has actually seen a Cecaelia on his walks around the Pendle countryside, but rural rambles and a love of mythology inspired this bombastic second album. He’s in thrall to 1980s B-movies – ‘Out Of Time’ is surely the soundtrack to Kurt Russell blowing up a giant octopus – but there’s playfulness, too. ‘Porcelain Dolls’ is Toytown horror, and ‘Siren’ boasts the ethereal vocals of enigmatic local folkie, Amber. Stridently good fun. BF
