Losing Sleep

Losing Sleep’s 2007 predecessor Home Again had largely been recorded and finished before former Orange Juice leader Edwyn Collins suffered two life-threatening brain hemorrhages that left him partially paralysed and unable to talk. The mere existence of the album, then, is remarkable. Yet even if you knew nothing of the struggles behind its creation, Losing Sleep is still a triumph. Johnny Marr, Aztec Camera’s Roddy Frame, Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos and the Sex Pistols’ Paul Cook are among the friends and fans lending a hand for a pounding, muscular and life-affirming set of songs, but the undeniable winner is the strength, spirit and still razor-sharp songwriting of Collins.