Green Gartside is back, having been away, once again, for some time. Back with his first album in seven years, back on Rough Trade after 24 (Nonesuch/Rough Trade in North America), back on stage after 26. The man who is Scritti Politti has always been inclined to absence more than presence, questions more than answers, contradictions he spends years happily lost in. His is a story, after all, that begins watching the Sex Pistols in Leeds in 1977; continues for a period in early 80s Camden squat land, where attempts at a pop commune produced Peel-loved, post-punk singles; made a daring break into pop with the deathless “The ‘Sweetest’ Girl”; moved to New York to become a full-fledged MTV star, and sonic inspiration to future R&B; almost went mad from the effort; retreated to Wales and returned making hip-hop; and now, aged 50, has produced one more intricate, self-questioning pop master class, White Bread Black Beer, recorded alone, in his Hackney back room.

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