Allotment is an album made under the name Happy Band of Japan, a musical project that ran between 2005 and around 2012. This album was made in Barcelona and was a kind of concept album about the edgelands and the unofficial countryside, about trading estates and slag heaps and about moving from London and being young in a bored market town situated between the folds of the Wiltshire Downs.

Coke Machine Glow said:

“There are many moments of absolute joy. “School,” in which Scott’s plucking style and singing voice take him into jazzy inflections that Cat Stevens or Leo Kottke would be happy with. And, from tiny beginnings “Tiny Meadows” blooms with filtered harmonies, fuzz-tones, and tabla into a reflective beauty. Even the narrated “Market Town,” with its chopped and sampled banjo/vocals, has a rootsy charm, although its wry observations about satellite towns and shop names, delivered in Scott’s unapologetically blunt accent, may be meaningless to anyone outside of the UK.

Ultimately, Allotment shows the Happy Band of Japan’s progression from cottage industry into fully-formed band. And, with its narrative themes of nostalgic images of youth, UK life, and promising tomorrows, it acts as a dazzling beacon of the beatific imaginings and sonic experimentation yet to be fully nurtured. Until then, take the time out to enjoy and cherish them.”