Cai Burns’ emergence in lockdown as Blood Wizard was startling in the project’s seemingly instant realisation. Western Spaghetti – his full-length debut – was the sort of record that could have been mistaken for a cult outsider’s work years deep into honing their craft. Its deftly balanced mix of quietly forceful hooks, plaintive textures and wry lyricism created a welcoming space to escape amidst the tension of the times. However, on the much-anticipated follow-up Grinning William it’s clear that Burns has only previously scratched the surface of what Blood Wizard can be.

Grinning William is a record that advances Burns’ reputation as one of the UK underground’s most underrated ears when it comes to arresting hooks and pop smarts. Here, he pulls them through a prism that refracts differently from his previous releases – the more alt. folk leanings of his debut have been largely ushered out in lieu of slung low, beefier guitars that at times tighten up into taut new wave urgency and at others allow themselves to fully embrace the drop tuned sludge.

Grinning William arrives three years after Burn’s critically acclaimed debut and on the surface it perhaps feels like Blood Wizard has emerged, retreated and returned in abrupt fashion. However, the truth is that the wheels have never stopped turning for the artist.

As on Western Spaghetti, Burns tackles his new LP with a full band, but affords Robinson, Tom Towle on second guitar, Ben Davis on bass and Adrian Cook on drums more collaborative input than ever before. Recorded with producer Theo Verney, the band went into Echo Zoo Studios with tracks rehearsed but not so tightly that there wasn’t ample room for further additions and edits - and the open-ended nature of the project led to frequent unexpected creative turns.

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