Bingo Fury, aka Bristol’s Jack Ogborne, has been bubbling away in the background for a few years now. Launching his solo career during the first lockdown, his musical journey so far amounts to a handful of singles, EPs and appearances at live events (including Loud and Quiet‘s Christmas party in 2022) and a slowly growing buzz amongst industry heads and music critics alike.

Though his recorded output barely covers a commute, the existing tracks showcase an uncanny ability to meld discordant, noirish jazz with a keen ear for melody and pop song structure, reminiscent of a younger and more rakishly handsome Tom Waits. However, nobody gets to develop forever, and there comes a time when an artist has to premier their work.

Fortunately, Bats Feet for a Widow easily validates the time spent on its creation. Ostensibly a collection of downbeat piano-led ballads, it is pulled up by the raw power of inventive songwriting and a patchwork quilt of influences. From avant-jazz and Silver Jews-like mellow pop to more esoteric references such as signwriting and London shopfronts, it’s a record that actively revels in the cognitive dissonance it stirs up. Simultaneously comforting and unsettling, thoughtful yet deliberately absurd in places, Ogbourne skillfully threads these contradictions together to deliver an experience that’s both intensely surreal and powerfully evocative.

This might only be a debut album, but already it’s cementing Bingo Fury as one of the UK’s most exciting new prospects.