Julian Reid: Julian Reid (digital outlets)

In the many decades I wrote for the New Zealand Herald – as a freelancer, then on staff for 17 years, then freelancing again – I never wrote about my three sons' various bands, even though they toured with Shihad, were regulars at places like Pod and the Powerstation, recorded for Wildside and so on.

More fool me, I thought journalistic integrity meant I shouldn't be seen to be advancing their careers.

That's a position which seems ridiculous today when people post photos of their kids “graduating” from primary school or holding swimming certificates for getting their heads wet in the school pool.

But I didn't do what I didn't do, although their bands were written up in New Zealand Musician, Planet and various other magazines.

These days they've mostly moved on to other things although music is still very much part of their lives.

But my oldest son Julian – who has lived in Britain for over 20 years – has recorded intermittently, had incidental music on various US television shows (Dance Moms!) and used by UK's Channel 4 where he worked in the graphics department for a while.

He quietly released a series of quasi-ambient albums under the name Fortensky (introduced here) but late last year – with a typical lack of fanfare – stepped out under his own name with this 10-song collection of surreptitiously addictive alt.pop on which he plays everything himself.

Immediate standouts are the dark'n'light moods of Summon Love and the veiled menace of Serpentine, and the the drifting dream-pop of Particles All which has a visual quality (he's a photographer of some standing).

The melodies here sneak up out of what might initially seem a kind of emotional monochrome (Easy Come, the constantly morphing Break the Sun) and there's a clever sense of atmospherics in places (Square One).

By the way, I listened to this on Spotify when it was released and it didn't sound that great, but a download bought from bandcamp has much more breadth and resonance.

Around about now he and his wife are moving back to London after 18 months in Brighton and he'll have his own in-house studio.

Good, because that might mean more (and knowing him, probably different) music again soon.

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You can hear and buy this album at bandcamp here. Some of his street photography from Athens and England – which has appeared in various books – can be found at Elsewhere here and here.

His website is here