'The Great Wound'

Rispah, the sophomore album by The Invisible and their first for Ninja Tune, is out now.

The album, "a love letter to grief” following the passing of singer Dave Okumu's mother, is imbued with an inevitable melancholy but defined by a sense of hope. Throughout, the band reveal their rich creativity and musicianship. Echoes run through these songs of African music (including beautifully-woven-in samples of the singers from Okumu's mother's funeral), psalm tones and devotional music, In A Silent Way-era Miles Davis, hints of minimal classical composers such as Steve Reich and the wilder more psychedelic end of hip hop and related electronic musics.

Nothing is ever included for the sake of it, no attempt is made to patronise or sell the audience short. It's a record brimming with real emotion and restless intelligence, a record to get lost in.

Rispah is out now in Europe (6/12 in North America) on CD and DL, buy at the Ninjashop (http://bit.ly/M7MTDh), Amazon (http://amzn.to/LD1ivp) and iTunes (http://bit.ly/KYowg2). A vinyl pressing of the album will be released 9 July.