8/10

Seven years is a long time for any career to be on hiatus, and if it wasn't for Damien Rice's incredible legacy thus far, we probably wouldn't care that much by his return. But with only two wonderful albums to his name, the Irish singer-songwriters reappearance to recorded music has been welcomed with open arms and from just a few tracks in, it is clear that he has been developing himself into a new and more contemporary fashion.

While he may have made his name as a solemn solo character with nothing but a guitar and a wistful voice, 'My Favourite Faded Fantasy' sees Rice expand his sound into a dream-like soundscape that likes to use long-meandering moments of instrumentation just as much as his basic folk compositions. We are hearing a far more advanced version of the Damien Rice sound on this new record, as he looks to create an album with a multi-layered narrative that breaks the conventions and expectations about what people may have thought about his return.

In all, this new record hardly picks up where he left off but feels like he has jumped forward a few spaces instead. It is so distant yet so familiar to his old material that it may shock at first, but will still be greatly appreciated as more than just an adequate return.