Adem Love and Other Planets

Two or three years ago Domino earned themselves a well-deserved reputation for scouting one of the most striking rosters of new artists. Alongside the headline-grabbing antics of Franz Ferdinand, Adem came across as almost excessively quietist and retiring. At a showcase gig at the ICA, I witnessed him berate the audience for talking so loudly that his instruments could not be heard. That year's album, Homesongs, was beautiful, precise and moving. But unless you paid an awful lot of attention, it was quite possible to miss it.

Here it seems that Adem has decided to grab some of the attention. Having spent much of the year supporting Juana Molina and performing live with other Domino acts, as well as being part of a campaign in support of local libraries that saw him inviting the public to come and join him making acoustic noise in Scottish public places, the release of LAOP is a timely reminder of the talents of one of our most beautiful voices. It's also surprisingly well produced, with choral orchestrations and layered instrumental backing to go with the shuffling of feet and frets that we should be accustomed to by now.

Lyrically, Adem deals with love in all its guises, imagining an interplanetary network that embraces human being, animals and the universe. If this sounds like tree-hugging nonsense, then listen to Adem sing, "on a clear night if you look close enough / you can just make out / love and other planets / we are not alone" and realise that we have the first bedroom folk Spinozan of the modern era.

Love sees Adem bulking up his sounds, hitching up the emotions, and giving it his all. There is even, in the shape of Something's going to come - whisper it - and upbeat popsong. On a couple of occasions this might even sound like the record Coldplay would produce with the benefit of a brain and a soul. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. LAOP is simply a beautiful pop album.