The title track of I'm New Here is one of many highlights on an album that sees Gil Scott-Heron sounding as vital as ever; a record that reveals something unexpected at every turn; one that sees Scott-Heron pushing, probing and testing the boundaries just as he always has. Alongside his I'm New Here collaborator - producer and XL Recordings head Richard Russell - Scott-Heron has made an album that eschews the cosy arrangements and retrospective leanings one might expect from an artist over forty years into their career. Instead, I'm New Here sees Gil Scott-Heron still looking forward, still challenging conventions and expectations.

On much of I'm New Here, Scott-Heron reflects on his life and this moment with his trademark vocal power and insight, sharing his visions among Russell's flickering, electronic soundscapes which at various times conjure up thoughts of Burial and The xx, as well as a host of hip-hop influenced sounds.

Against the low, buzzing miasma of "Crutch," Scott-Heron observes a sidewalk junkie from both inside the addict's head and out: "His eyes half-closed reveal his world of nod/A world of lonely men and no love, no God..." And, on the future single "New York City is Killing Me," he manages to sound like a raw-throated blues singer from a '30's field recording and an existential narrator trapped in some post-industrial wasteland. Listen to the crashing, hip-hop beat and primal vocal boom of "Me And The Devil." Elsewhere, along with brief ruminations and tape-recorded insights, Scott-Heron sings over the airy, funk arrangements that recall his '70s work, given a modern day reboot by Russell. But through all of it runs the thoughtful, provocative and still rebellious voice of Gil Scott-Heron.