Losing Sleep

After Edwyn Collins suffered two strokes in 2005, followed by a dose of MRSA, one might reasonably have expected his music career to be over. But near-miraculously, within two years, he released an album (Home Again, which was all but finished before his strokes) and returned to the live stage. After overcoming struggles with creativity, Collins rediscovered the urge to compose music as he battled insomnia, hence the title Losing Sleep, which features contributions from friends like Johnny Marr, The Cribs, and the Drums.
Unparalleled as its genesis is, Collins' seventh solo record is also exceptionally good – an absolute ray of sunshine. Collins muses on the loss of his memory and creativity, but with a vigorous, mood-elevating positivity. Losing Sleep is as much about human solidarity as it is individual strength, and music's capacity to heal. It's incredibly moving, but also, hands down, the most uplifting guitar-pop album of the year. – The Telegraph