Shifty Adventures in Nookie Wood, Double Six ***

John Cale hasn’t been idle in the seven years since his last studio album (blackAcetate): he’s played his classic Paris 1919 album live, hosted a tribute gig to Nico, represented Wales at the Venice Biennale, and remained firmly at the avant-vanguard of rock. As the playful title of his new album suggests, Cale, now 70, is revisiting a misspent youth in Wales, “doing hard time in the nookie wood”. Just as there’s a classic rock sound, Shifty Adventures sports a classic synth-rock sound, the primary colours of electro, if you will.

I Wanna Talk 2 You, a collaboration with Danger Mouse, takes a descending chord progression into a dystopia, while Scotland Yard sounds younger with every listen. The hypnotic Face to the Sky is one of several tracks in which Cale experiments with autotune while still staying well outside pop's one-dimensional boundaries. Facebook.com/OfficialJohnCale

Download tracks: I Wanna Talk 2 You, Scotland Yard, Face to the Sky, Nookie Wood