And there’s a surfeit of musicality on display here. ‘Strange Old World’ with its chugging Motown bassline jumps for joy, while the balladic ‘It Must Be Real’ contains one of Edwyn’s finest post-illness vocals, a work of real longing and emotion. ‘A Little Sign’ drips with feeling, while the wry, funny ‘Sound As A Pound’ is delivered with a beaming smile on its face. (…)

‘The Mountains Are My Home’ contains some neat Jansch-esque fingerpicking, while its folky cousin ‘The Bridge Hotel’ toasts Sutherland life, complete with bucolic flute. A space for happiness, joy, and relaxation, the album closes with the Jobim-flavoured ‘Rhythm Is My Own World’, substituting the sands of Rio for the exhaling tide of Brora beach – you suspect Edwyn wouldn’t have it any other way.

(Clash Music)

Musically, the tunes blend pop stickiness with sonic experimentation, but there is a strong sense of place. “The Mountains Are My Home” reflects Collins’ move to the highlands. It’s also a traditional roaming song in the style of Glen Campbell, propelled by a train-track rhythm. Has Collins ever sung more sweetly than on “It Must Be Real”? Never with such directness. The way he performs now has the conversational bluntness of Lou Reed refracted, perhaps, through the sunny disposition of Jonathan Richman. “When you love, love, love again, you succeed,” Collins sings on “Rhythm Is My Own World”. When he does admit to doubt, the notion is quickly dispelled. “Sometimes it brings me down,” he sings on “Sound As A Pound”, “the pain inside, but I’m ok.”

(Uncut)

In particular, The Heart Is A Foolish Little Thing is a gorgeously bittersweet song about romance and realism, its beautiful hook reminding one of the kind of toytown Motown that Collins used to deal in when he was in Orange Juice.

Then there’s Sound As A Pound, which skips along on the joyful chorus line, “I feel fine / Sound as a pound”; Strange Old World, a gritty but positive co-write between Collins and his guitarist son William; and the unexpected diversion into bossa nova contentment with the closing Rhythm Is My Own World, coming after the low-key balladry of A Little Sign and It Must Be Real. All of this music is a blast, an affecting display of the emotional textures which Collins has always dealt in so confidently, regardless of his health issues.

(Record Collector)