Blemish

There are three bold collaborations with veteran British improv guitarist Derek Bailey, whose spare, atonal haiku tones will present a challenge to those who turn to Sylvian for comfort listening. The scratchy, CD-skipping effects of "The Only Daughter" are also calculated to disconcert the listener, while "Late Night Shopping" is shot through with disquieting intentions and laced with sinister strains of avant-garde noise. This, however, is a brave album and in its own way as beautiful as its predecessor in its starkness. --David Stubbs