Disneyland in Dagenham is the new album by the enigmatic Scott Lavene. It’s available for pre-order (in plum red or traditional black vinyl) in readiness for its release on the 10th of May on Cheersquad Records and Tapes.

A born storyteller, through his records and his writing ­– he sends out monthly short stories under the title ‘Bits & Bobs’ via his mailing list and is currently working on his first novel – Lavene has long been populating a hallucinogenic world of his own creation with ne’er do wells, ragamuffins and eccentrics. From a man draining the blood of property agents in the aid of local businesses (Keeping It Local) to a talking horse who travels Europe selling hash, gambling and performing covers of Talking Heads, Disneyland In Dagenham is no exception. It’s a record that tumbles together the autobiographical and the imagined, the heart-breaking and the preposterous; the tale of that itinerant drug-dealing horse, for instance, is also a genuinely touching allegory for the way friendships can slip through one’s fingers.

Lavene jokes, “I’m like The Beatles, but a little bit Tom Waits, a little bit Whitesnake, a little bit Chas & Dave, and a little bit power ballads.” All worthy comparisons, but ultimately Scott Lavene is the kind of artist that can be compared only to himself.