7/10

With his fourth solo outing 'Shadow Play', UK songwriter Chris Lewington leans further into the musical eras that shaped him, while also exploring deeper emotional undercurrents that anchor his storytelling. The result is an album that shimmers with melodic brightness on the surface, but lets shadows flicker through the cracks, capturing a thoughtful, sometimes eerie, sometimes joyful journey through memory, melancholy, and melodic mischief.

From the opening track 'All Cried Up', there’s an undeniable pulse of classicism. The guitars chime and jangle with a vintage glow, evoking the golden warmth of the ‘60s without feeling like pastiche. But 'Shadow Play' isn’t just a trip down memory lane. It’s a project that dances with the duality of light and loss, a pop record that grins even as it mourns.

Lyrically, Lewington’s songs often take unexpected turns. You’re eased into toe-tapping rhythms and breezy arrangements, only to find yourself in the middle of reflections on absence, strange daydreams, or love that dissolves before it fully arrives. There’s a theatricality at times, not in a flamboyant way, but in the sense that every song is its own short scene, painted in crisp detail and rich emotion. Think Forever Changes filtered through a modern, introspective lens.

And yet, what really sets 'Shadow Play' apart is its consistency. Whether he’s leaning into jangly pop or more plaintive balladry, he never loses his melodic instinct. Every track feels lovingly constructed; tight in structure but loose enough to feel lived-in.

In a time where indie-pop often chases novelty, Chris Lewington’s 'Shadow Play' stands as a reminder of what made the form captivating in the first place: songs that stick, stories that linger, and melodies that let complexity sneak in through the back door. It’s a late-summer bloom of a record; soft around the edges, quietly profound, and rooted in a legacy that still has plenty to say.