That all being said, there are moments of insight and humour so perfectly formed that even the most ardent fans will find some satisfaction here. ‘Stained Glass’ is particularly sterile, sweet and soft, but devoid of the in-your-face intimacy of Field Medic at his best. However, across the nine tracks here, there is definitely a slight tonal shift everything is cleaned up that little bit more, a trimming of corners that occasionally feels as if it tempers his style. Opener ‘Always Emptiness’ goes some way to dispelling initial worries, as a mourning guitar line and soft acoustic strumming backs his vocalised desire to “fall off the face of the earth and probably die”. Joined for the first time by an additional body in the recording process, namely Gabe Goodman, concerns arose that Sullivan may have had his signature mullet metaphorically trimmed on the new album, Grow Your Hair Long If You’re Wanting To See Something That You Can Change, as his coveted charm and style contends with another’s influence on his sound. Even when not at his most effective, choreographed and stale he certainly never is. His offhand humour and disarming tales of depression, drinking and sex are nothing if not vivid and intimate, bolstered by the (right) sense that much of his music is the result of off-the-cuff writing.

For Kevin Patrick Sullivan, aka Field Medic, any perceived distance between himself and his audience is wasted.

The Intimate 2005