On his second album for Anticon, Bristolian rock collagist SJ Esau, or Sam Wisternoff, tightens his playful, genre-bounding compositions even as a cast of collaborators amplifies his singular vision. While 2007"s Wrong Faced Cat Feed Collapse smartly played to its own contrasts, Small Vessel melds diverse moods and styles into a buoyant, bold, and cohesive album both utterly post-modern and curiously epic despite its humble means.