Romeo Must Cry is a new chapter for Jonny Telafone, his most clearly articulated vision yet. The album presents a darkly sexual near future, both disturbing and alluring. The world could end at any minute, oblivion lurks around every corner, but there are still human connections to be made amidst a gleaming metropolis. LP with download code.

So steamy, seductive first single The Prayer (as posted on Pitchfork, Indie Shuffle, Flavorwire etc) is contrasted against the bleak fatalism of Inferno, the cyberpunk urgency of Carry Me Far Away and the disarming sweetness of Strange World. It’s an intensely personal vision, with only a handful of outside contributions. Waking Up Crying features a verse from rising LA rapper Bones, who featured an earlier version of the track on his 2013 mixtape Paid Programming. The Ocean Party’s Liam Halliwell plays guitar on the epic Inferno, and Sam McCusker of noiseniks Orbits shreds on Neuromancer.

The Prayer was produced with Forces maverick Alex Akers, while title track Romeo Must Cry (bookending the album in two distinct versions) was produced with Lachlan Thomas of Danger Beach/TV Colours. From start to finish, the album is a journey from innocence, love and hope, through to steely-eyed despair.