“You have to check out the shower curtain,” said Lisa. “It’s pretty trippy.”

It’s a pretty odd thing to say to a random Brit who you’ve invited over on a sticky, sunny autumn day. But sure, I’ll give it a go.

Lisa Akuah

Holy shit, it was trippy.

I’ll explain it as best as I can: it’s a tabby cat (well, kitten I guess) leaping out of some kind of swirling, multi-coloured cosmic cloud. It is, as Lisa said, trippy.

Yet Lisa was anything but trippy. Kind, courteous, and charmingly vulnerable, Lisa’s songs and stage presence ooze class, honesty and sincerity. Lisa displays some of the best qualities not just of musicians, but of humankind.

Through the melancholy melodies and touching lyrics, Lisa is hopeful, joyful and thankful. I think that shines through. Listen to the end for a really great performance of one of her new songs, ‘Bubbles’.

Also this week: Album review

Tihomir Zdjelarevic – Mikrowelt

When I put the call out on Facebook for people to submit albums for review, I really didn’t expect anyone to be interested. Yet Tihomir rose from the crowd and gave me permission to be a critic.

Let’s get one thing straight: I’m not a music professor. I’m a classic-rock / soft-rock / country-rock fan primarily. So it’s not fair of me to really judge any other genres outside of what I know too harshly.

Sure, there are some songs outside of my realm which I despise, and usually for good reason. But most of the time, I try to find redeeming qualities in most of what I hear. And let’s face it: we’re all amateur musicians here, so knocking each other down completely doesn’t help anyone.

With this in mind, I gave my appraisal of Tihomir’s work on his debut album Mikrowelt. It’s a dreamy, special soundscape – something I can certainly imagine in a sci-fi movie. And while I’ll be the first to admit it’s not my preferred style of music, it’s incredibly produced, mixed and designed. It is a great album.

You can hear some more of my comments in the review, which comes halfway through the episode.