"Occasional Rain" is the sequel to Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs' highly successful "English Weather" collection ("Really compelling and immersive, it's a pleasure to lose yourself in it" - Alexis Petridis, the Guardian). This is the sound of young bands experimenting in a period of flux, feeling for a new direction, exploring jazz and folk - as many songs are led by mellotron, piano and flute as they are by guitar. Lyrically, there are two themes that crop up regularly, the search for a home that isn't there anymore - the certainties of the optimistic 60s, the physical reality of terraced streets - and the rain. For the former, there's Cressida's gentle, keening 'Home And Where I Long To Be', while Duncan Browne's shape-shifting 'Ragged Rain Life' feels like a decent summary of Britain in both 1970 and 2020. "Occasional Rain" puts the era's bigger names (Traffic, Yes, Moody Blues) and the lesser known (Mandy More, Shape Of The Rain, Tonton Macoute) side by side. Like its predecessor "English Weather", it evokes the turn of the new decade, a beautiful state of fuzzy confusion, and the feel of a wet Saturday afternoon at the dawn of the 70s spent flicking through the racks, wondering whether to buy the new Tull album or maybe take a chance on that Christine Harwood album in the bargain bin (go on, you won't regret it). track listingSIDE ONE1.HIDDEN TREASURE / Traffic2.RAGGED RAIN LIFE / Duncan Browne3.HOME AND WHERE I LONG TO BE / Cressida4.LEIT MOTIF / Keith West5.NIGHT TIME / Skin AlleySIDE TWO1.ONCE UPON A TIME / Clouds2.COME WITH ME TO JESUS / Mandy More3.OUT AND IN (SINGLE VERSION) / Moody Blues4.WASTING MY TIME / Shape Of The Rain5.NUTMEG, BITTER SUITE / Granny's Intentions6.WATERLOW / Mott The HoopleSIDE THREE1.SWEETNESS / Yes2.STATION SONG PLATFORM TWO - Pete Brown and Piblokto!3.FREEFALL / Argent4.I KNOW THAT I'M DREAMING / Exchange & Mart5.POSTCARDS OF SCARBOROUGH - Michael Chapman SIDE FOUR 1.QUESTION OF TIME / Christine Harwood 2.THE CASTLE / -Igginbottom 3.WINDY BAKER STREET / Andrew Leigh 4.FLYING SOUTH IN WINTER / Tonton Macoute 5.INNOCENCE OF A CHILD / Catherine Howe