After a five-year stretch of studio silence, Andy Stott has emerged from his workshop with a new record that proves, once again, that constraints breed creativity - or at least a very interesting press release. The album, appropriately titled Late Loop, was reportedly crafted with a stripped-down arsenal: no basslines, no reverb, and no effects beyond a humble delay unit. Because who needs bass when you have existential dread and a delay pedal?

The follow-up to 2019's Never the Right Time arrives October 30 via Modern Love, and it marks a shift from Stott's previous experimental drone noodling - which he describes as evolving from an ambient experiment to "something like brass band concrète" - toward a more song-oriented approach. To that end, two vocalists, Alison Skidmore and Elaine Howley, lend their voices to every track, with Howley taking the lead on the new single "Something in Mind." Because nothing says "I'm back" like having actual humans sing over your meticulously crafted absence of reverb.

For those who prefer their music with a side of visual stimulation, there's a Kitty Handley-directed video for "Something in Mind" that you can watch below, presumably while wondering what a delay unit can't do. The album art, courtesy of Myriam Boulos, is also available for your viewing pleasure, if you're into that sort of thing.

And for the completionists among you, here's the full tracklist, because we know you were going to ask:

01 Cold Welcome [ft. Alison Skidmore]

02 Something in Mind [ft. Elaine Howley]

03 Sunday Fast [ft. Alison Skidmore]

04 2024-2 [ft. Alison Skidmore]

05 The Hardest Thing [ft. Elaine Howley]

06 Mirror Signal [ft. Elaine Howley]

07 Songbird [ft. Elaine Howley]

08 Late Loop [ft. Alison Skidmore]