There’s something exciting about seeing an artist progress with consecutive albums, particularly so with a multi-talented solo performer. Over the decades Te Whanganui-a-Tara singer-songwriter Adam Crawford has played drums in various bands, but a few years back he adopted the moniker Shark vs Lion and started composing and recording songs, playing all the instruments himself. 

The early Shark vs Lion songs were already good, but with each release Crawford’s taken a step up in terms of composition, assuredness, and even emotional content. ‘From Inside’ is his third album and it shows a growing confidence. “I wouldn’t be myself without you”, he croons swoonily on the charming second track Buttons. Backing up his well acknowledged talents on the drum kit, and his burgeoning skill on guitar and other instruments, on this track the real stand out is the vocals. Multi-tracked and languidly sweet, he shows an aptitude for vocal melodies that wriggle inside your lug-holes and take up residence.

Having established an aesthetic for his videos – weird found footage – if you look this one up on YouTube you’ll get a spookily incongruous clip of a strange puppet/panto performance. Thoughtfully-applied effects heighten the haunting lyrics on Breathe (“…just as life comes then another leaves”), showing that Crawford is as much a master of production as he is of playing and singing.

This downbeat number is followed by the swagger of Deny It, sounding like a mellow Led Zep jam with Crawford taking over vocals while Robert Plant is out topping up the parking meter. The 10 lengthy songs here are presented on a wide screen. Indeed, you could easily imagine them appearing on a soundtrack near you sometime soon. There’s enough rock to make you groove, but at the same time they evoke a sense of space. Bitter-sweet, scarred by beauty and chock-full of yearning, this gorgeous album deserves your attention.