Even before you have removed the CD from the tray ‘13^th Star’ simply oozes quality. From the lavish packaging and stunning artwork (courtesy of long-time Fish collaborator Mark Wilkinson), you know this is going to be a high quality piece of work. The distinctive production by Calum Malcolm ensures a polished finish and in long serving bassist Steve Vantsis, Fish has discovered the ideal co-writer to help bring his narrative to life. With ten songs across 50-odd minutes this is almost back to an old fashioned “LP” length and there is no “filler” to be found here. Each track has found its rightful place on the album and each track brings its own unique contribution to the end result.

Musically it inhabits a territory somewhere between ‘Clutching At Straws’ and Peter Gabriel’s ‘Up’, and is equal parts light and shade. With the uplifting ‘Arc of The Curve’ Fish offers his most effective love song since ‘Lavender’ and the melancholic ‘Where In The World’ is his most poignant assessment of the events of the past few months:- “This time last year I was in love, this time last year there was a dream”, “Our roles were written, we had our destiny, our lives were meant to be”

Whilst there are some darker moments this is not all loss and despair. Fish describes ’13^th Star’ as being about “a journey through life” and there are glimmers of genuine optimism to be found amidst the everyday turmoil of relationship trauma. The bustling ‘Zoe 25’ sees our hero immersed in a world of fairytale and fantasy, lost in the daydream of another life. The biting ‘Manchmal’ is a blend of aggression and control, whilst ‘Openwater’ bounces along with an insistent melody and some soaring guitars courtesy of Frank Usher. Moving towards its climax the mood of betrayal and mistrust becomes apparent and by ‘Dark Star’ there is a sense of heart bursting isolation:- “The fairy falls with broken wings; I hold it close to me and then let it fly, Another dream, another you, shattered splintered shards explode in the blue,”

But all is not lost. The inspired title track suggests a moment of clarity, a realisation that the road ahead has become clearer and more defined. A fitting conclusion to a truly outstanding album.

Over the course of his near twenty-year solo career Fish’s fanbase has, like many of his contemporaries, fallen to a ‘core’ number. But for those who have remained loyal the returns have gradually been improving since 1997’s ‘Sunsets On Empire’ right through until 2004’s ‘Field Of Crows’; and yet there has always been a nagging feeling that his best was still to come. With ‘13^th Star’ Fish has laid down the marker against which his past and future work will now be judged. Quite simply, this is a work of art...and if you want a shorter description then I can think of only one word. Masterpiece.