With Forgiveness & The Grain, Mike Vennart has forged an often-solemn mood piece that exists at the more elegiac end of his considerable catalogue. From his time leading cult concerns Oceansize to last year’s Empire State Bastard debut, the guitarist has, by his own reckoning, now made 10 albums in two decades, a panoply of sounds united by discerning songcraft and questing spirit. Here, his focus has shifted away from the anthemic tunes he’s played as a member of Biffy Clyro’s live band in favour of something more intimate. The result is a listening experience of slow-burning depth and charm. On Chapter X Whereupon I Immediately Did Nothing and R U The Future, patiently unfurling alt-prog balladry hints at the airy textures of Peter Gabriel or ...