On first listen, Nick Lowe's first album in four years seems like the grumpy work of an old curmudgeon. Repeated spins, however, reveal a lovingly crafted album full of joy and pathos laced with Lowe’s renowned sharp and witty songwriting skills. The self-deprecating ‘Checkout Time’ is a case in point, with its tale of a young rocker who - having somehow survived the machinations of a cut throat industry - is surprised to find himself still producing music into his sixth decade. Add to that a gently lilting take on old cohort Elvis Costello's 'The Poisoned Rose' and a collection of ballads and classic R&B shoe shuffles and we have a simple gem of an album that should find a deserving place in many collections.

The Old Magic provides a lesson in restraint that the plethora of modern singer-songwriters would do well to learn from. For the rest of us, it provides yet more evidence that Lowe is a great British talent to be sought out and treasured.