Lanterns On The Lake - You're Almost There

Newcastle six-piece Lanterns On The Lake know all about making their numbers count - it shows in their music, right down to every last piece of the artistic wonderment that is their track You're Almost There.

Listening to them is almost more like observing a masterpiece of fine art than a record in a way. There are so many details, so many aspects and layers to their work that it's hard to decide what is more involving - the grandosity of their music as a whole, or the intricacy of each individual part.

Pinned on a tear-jerking, sorrowful piano hook, You're Almost There is about as atmospheric a track as you get these days. Elusive and ever shape-shifting, it coils and spirals down and down into a shadowy realm of wintery melodies and yearning, enchanting female vocals.

As the track slowly draws to a close, violins sigh as if they're some weary animal heading for hibernation - it's a beautifully natural sound that the band manage to capture; an essence that is as much about themselves as it seems to stem from the bleakness of their Northern roots.

Even their name, Lanterns On The Lake, is so instrinsicly poetic, so expressive in its singularity. It's an image, and it's a sound - and a very wonderful one at that.

You're Almost There is available as a free download from Soundcloud here. The band's debut album Gracious Tide, Take Me Home is released on the 19th September.

Lanterns On The Lake - You're Almost There by Bella Union

INTERVIEW - Starlings

This week sees Sheffield's finest, Starlings, releasing their new single 'Sirens' - the follow-up to debut track 'Weight In Gold', it sees them bringing New Wave back to Britain with a bang. I caught up with the band as they share their thoughts on the eighties, songwriting and living the rock and roll lifestyle on tour.


Your sound is very 80s influenced – do you have a favorite track from the 80s?

The 80s was a remarkable decade for music, one which I don’t think will ever be beaten for innovation.  If I had to pick one favorite track at the moment, it would be The Rainbow from Talk Talk’s Spirit of Eden album.  It is constantly on repeat on my iPod.  It gives me shivers.  To be fair I could have picked any track from Talk Talk's back catalogue.  Talk Talk were the ultimate balearic rock band and they are an indelible influence on our own balearic sound.  Mark Hollis is a genius!


How did it feel the first time your track was played on BBC radio?

Getting BBC radio play still carries great kudos, even in the internet age, and it is an important milestone which all up and coming bands look to pass.  We were naturally over the moon when we got our first BBC radio play.  Like any quality exposure, it leaves you wanting more.  It also has the effect of reinforcing your internally held beliefs and on some level makes you realise that you probably are as good as you think you are.


Do you think the music scene is a friendly place for new bands to launch into at the moment or is it too competitive/crowded?

I think the music scene at grass roots/local level can be a fairly friendly place to be.  There have never been more opportunities for bands to get their music instantly heard and there have never been more places to play on the live circuit.   Perhaps the effect of this is that the scene has become saturated with average acts big on bluster but lacking in substance and songs.  This makes it harder for the really good new bands to get their heads above the parapet.  But I'm a firm believer that the good will out.


You talk about your hometown of Sheffield being important to your sound – are there any specific approaches you take when it comes to writing songs?

Sheffield's electronic music heritage has had an important influence on our sound.  The handful of bands I’ve been in have always used synthesised elements and I think a lot of that can be out down to the osmotic effects that electronically minded acts like Heaven 17, ABC, Cabaret Voltaire and the Warp record label have on those that grow up in the Steel City.  Sheffield still has a bit of an Artic Monkey's guitar group hangover, which has pushed us further away from six strings towards more synths and samples.  All elements together, Sheffield has moulded our identity and sound.

Nearly all of our songs start as chords on a guitar or a piano, to which we stitch a vocal melody.  We then get the right synth sounds, before exporting the embryonic idea to the practice room where we add the bass guitar and drums to the mix, before layering up any drum loops and electronic samples.  The lyrics come last.


How is the whole touring around the country experience treating you? Does it live up to the classic ‘rock and roll’ stereotypes?

Living the dream.  Free booze and free love.  Nothing more to say.  What goes on on tour, stays on tour.


You filmed your video for Sirens in the peak district – how naturally does filming a video come compared to the usual business of recording songs/playing live?

Recording a video has similarities with both recording songs and playing live.  There are scenes that you have to do again and again in order to get the correct take, which is similar to time spent on pause and repeat in the studio.  Then you have to mix that with the performance elements you would use in a live environment.  If you're a born performer, shooting a video forms a fun part of your artiste repertoire.


What can we expect from your debut album? And do you feel the album ‘format’ is still important in an age when most people download their music?

To us, the album format is still massively important.  It gives artists the opportunity to show that they have a body of work rather than being just one hit wonders.  Sometimes music has to be heard in context and as part of a bigger picture, which only the album format (and perhaps playing a longer live set) can provide.  Colour of Spring and Spirit of Eden by Talk Talk are perfect examples of single elements forming part of a perfect composite piece.

For our debut album, expect extended singles, super songs and a shimmering disco sheen.

Urban Myth Club - Surrender

When I covered Urban Myth Club's brilliant new album Open Up back in February, Surrender was the track that truly stood out for me. Every great record has one, that single moment that stands for everything that album is about - distilling it into a single instant of brilliance.

And so, for the duo, Surrender becomes their calling card; their resume of chilled out ambient bliss. And boy does it send out a good message. A lush ballad tinged with Eastern melodies and Bjork-esque vocals, string sections swell like swathes of grass blowing in the wind. Against this, the bass pulses slow and subdued in the background - indeed, Surrender stands as the epitome of a comedown track.

Airy, dream-like - this is so much the sound of a blazing sunset going down over an Ibiza horizon that you can almost taste it. These are the memories you'll keep after the very best of days. The chorus implores us to 'lose yourself in love', and if losing ourselves sounds as good as this, we certainly don't want to be found. Not yet anyway...

The result is that you're left marvelling, as with the whole Open Up album, at the sheer beauty on offer here. Surrender's power though is that taken on its own, removed from the hypnotic entity of the entire record, it still functions in every sense as a pop record.

Surrender is released on the 27th June.

Isaac's Aircraft - Two Is A Crowd

Big piano driven slabs of pop-rock; we've been awash with it in the past decade - Keane, The Feeling and Mika all plying their own takes on it to varying degrees of success. But a new decade demands a new sound, and one that strikes at the very boundaries of the format. Enter Isaac's Aircraft - from the first track of their debut LP Two Is A Crowd they establish a refined, classy sound befitting their Cambridge roots. It's that same piano led rock, but it feels infinitely more ambitious.

Band member Martin Seidal is a classically trained pianist, and it shows. His chords take centre stage on the majority of the tracks, pulling together a sound that is distinctly British. The band have already had a top 10 internet radio hit over in the US, and what with the Brit-mania that seems to be spreading across America at the moment (Adele and the Royal Family, take a bow please) you can see why they'd take a band like Isaac's Aircraft to their hearts.

Mathematics and Good Man serve as snappy introductions to their record - there's a real unplugged feel here; a result of the band not being able to afford a fully electric album. This never feels like a compromise though, the quality across each and every track on Two Is A Crowd testament to their adaptability.

At times, the piano fades away to be replaced by carefully finger-picked guitar hooks; but the record never feels like an 'acoustic album' though. There is a real weight, a heftyness that elevates it beyond the cobled-together vibe that plagues so many bands' acoustic performances.

And although you'd be hard pushed to tell it, the whole album was remarkably recorded in just two days - Isaac's Aircraft are clearly a band who take efficiency to a whole new level. There's urgency and a real eagerness to please here. The word 'pleasant' comes to mind - but it's important to dismiss this as meaning average or unadventurous, because in a way the album's simplicity is adventure in its own right. It's refreshing to sample something of such clarity once in a while, and in terms of clarity, Two Is A Crowd is about as pure as you can get.

On the whole, the album remains mostly up-tempo, with a smattering of considered, tasteful ballads like Boogie In Boots thrown in. A personal favourite has to She Is Moscow though - a track with swagger to rival the likes of Robbie Williams, a real singer's song that boasts a definitively funky, driving beat.

Isaac's Aircraft come with the credentials of supporting Amy Winehouse and The Zutons on tour, and it is with the latter that they share a similar ear for melody. There's a dependability to the band, you know you can count on them to deliver. And speaking of which, a full electric album is due out in the autumn - which going by the strength of what we've heard here, we shall anticipate eagerly.

Two Is A Crowd is released on the 4th July.

Katy B - On A Mission

On A Mission is fundamentally a pop record at heart, but it's testament to Katy B's talent and ingenuity that her debut LP feels just at home on the dancefloor. It manages to span that treacherous borderline between the two, doing so in a manner that is bursting with inventive melody and songwriting verve.

The real wonder is that while this album already contains four hit singles, it feels like you could easily squeeze another three or four from it - the tracks are of such a good quality. Consistency is the name of the game here and katy knows it - there's an amazing confidence to her that buzzes around, transfusing through into you - you want to leap up and join her on the dancefloor too, 'sinking into the tune' as she sings on Katy On A Mission.

Meanwhile, Witches Brew sees the album at its most poppy with its refrain of 'come with me, I'll make you feel so good'. Empowered and forceful it blasts away any negativity and melancholy, replacing it with that singular bliss that falls over you when you're in that perfect moment of enjoying all the Good Times life has to offer. It is captured again in the relentless, pulsing buzz of Broken Record with its enchanting, hypnotic stream of layered vocals.

Easy Please Me is set to become the next single - and the track reminds me of Kylie Minogue's brief dabble into R&B; Red Blooded Woman. With an insanely catchy hook, it's this track perhaps that catches the power of Katy's vocals at their best; especially in the ad-libs in the last minute of the song.

We feel as if with each song we explore a different night out in Katy's company, a different aspect of her life. And with every chorus, every verse, we feel as if we're sharing in that story, adding it into our own lives and relating to what she tells us. For the duration of the album, she is our trusted confidant, our close friend.
You have to marvel at the sheer intricacy off the beats on offer - synths collide and fizz in the background - a hot bed of almost electric intensity that Katy wraps around her finger and directs at the listener. Her vocals are subtle, hushed, sultry - yet what really makes this album come into its own is the sheer force of personality that comes across, all wrapped up in her incredibly soulful voice.

The album comes to a chilled end with the jazzy keyboard riffs of Hard To Get, the song featuring a touching outro where Katy thanks all the people that helped contribute to the record. It could come across as cheesy, but here you feel Katy's earned the right to indulge - she has just treated us to one hell of an amazing album after all. This is summer music through and through; dripping with the radiance, jabs of brass injecting the track with a real vitality. So often albums fall flat by their end, the final track being a throwaway cut tacked on at the end - but Hard To Get ranks up there with the best of the album, a fitting finale to a stunning  record.

On A Mission is available to download from iTunes now.

The Pierces - Glorious

With new track Glorious, The Pierces confirm their place as having one of the most brilliant run of singles in recent years. First Love You More, then You'll Be Mine... Glorious makes it a hat-trick. With a chorus of "God bless the world, it's so glorious", the track is suitably uplifting and sisters Allison and Catherine carry the whole thing off with ease.

The duo have a real knack of striking the precise balance between up-tempo toe-tapper and gentle balladic beauty. In the sweeping guitar licks and swelling string sections, we feel as if we are rushing across the plains of America to the girls' homeland. "It got so lonely when you turned away," they sing, but we are only left wondering at how anyone could turn away from a song as lovely and enchanting as this.

The Sun has the exclusive premiere of the track's video and even this seems imbued with this hazy sense of forgotten years that The Pierces have come to capture in their sound. There's pretty retro dresses, filmic sepia-toned touches and shots of packed music halls. In this track comes an intense rush of emotion, as with their previous singles, The Pierces have this mastery of hitting exactly the right spot to send shivers of delight and reverence down you. It's in the beautiful harmonies, it's in the twinkling guitar and percussion. Truly Glorious.

Glorious is released on the 23rd May with their album You & I following a week later.

Vanbot - Vanbot

First, to get the obvious out of the way. Vanbot sounds like Robyn. A lot like Robyn. The similarity throws you for six when you first listen to her self titled debut album, but as you let it grow with you, the individuality works itself out and you realise her voice is actually sugared with a distinctiveness of its own. There's definitely more than a little of Kylie's sweetness to it, especially on the ballad Bad Day. An emotional tale of the pains of relationships, lines like 'the worst thing is that you don't miss me' cut straight to the heart. On an album that sounds as metallic and electronic as Vanbot's does, you might think emotions would be hard to portray with such intensity, but songs like Bad Day highlight just how it can be done, and with real power too.

It's hard to decide whether the album as a whole works more on a subtle level or as an all out pop record - it's a quality bands like a-ha made a career out of; radio-friendly pop hooks welded onto records of swirling, smoke-like natural wonder. For certain, on tracks like the single Make Me, Break Me, it errs straight into that all out pop camp. With its big, bold keyboard riffs, bubbling synth line and a chorus that soars the highest heights in terms of pop amazingness, it's a pure winner. The other single, Lost Without You follows in a similar vein, but here shapes itself around a snake-like, hypnotic mystical quality. If any of the tracks were exceptionally Robyn-esque, it's this one.

And when Vanbot wants to be, she can throw you hurtling onto the dancefloor too. Take album opener Ringing; as it plunges into the chorus the beats collide in a spectacular crash of kinetic energy. This is every inch the floorfiller, and there is an inherent groove to every track on the album; it creeps into your limbs, your whole body even - twitching away. And then there's the magestic, epic ambience of Bitter Is The Sweetest Part - this is the moment of the dancefloor caught in a second of endless frozen power.

The album drips in sonic references to New Order too, especially on Tired and Safe By The Numbers, the two tracks coming as a wonderful finale towards the albm's end. Like a lost treasure from New Order's Technique album, Tired sparks and bounds with synthetic energy. Part of the charm of Vanbot is just how many textures she works out from her sound, every track feels embued with some different essence. Icy, crystaline bells ring out in the final minute, an ecstacy of sheer beauty - the culmination of everything this album seeks to create.

Meanwhile, Safe By The Numbers melds that fragility with a surging, wavelike compressed guitar riff that picks you up in its intensity like a surfer caught adrift in a vast expanse of formless water. You're carried higher and higher on a wall of feeling and musical intensity. It's magic caught in a bottle of delicately carved glass, a slash of diamond glitter across a frozen lake. And as the album comes to a close and you rush to play it again, to emmerse yourself in it once more, you realise Vanbot has captured something completely and utterly beautiful here.

Vanbot is available to download on iTunes now.

Nicole Scherzinger - Killer Love

I think I’m falling in love with Nicole Scherzinger. Her debut album (finally out, after that unfortunate hiccup with shelved LP Her Name Is Nicole a few years back) has got me bewitched. Her voice is stunning; laced with a really distinctive twang too, really helping to contribute a more human element to her songs. In terms of recent pop records, as great as it is, Britney’s album can seem a little robotic at times, the voice serving merely as a tool amidst the other instruments that make up the track. But on Killer Love, Nicole’s voice is pure personality; you can truly feel her in every track.

The overall feel is future disco – there’s so, so much energy here. Think back to her breathtaking X Factor performance of Poison if you want a sense of what’s going on. It feels like she might jump right out of your speakers, grab you and force you up on the dance-floor.

What marks Nicole out amidst the crowd is that there’s so much versatility in her voice. Technically it’s perfect; with the power to dominate big, epic dance tracks like Number One hit Don’t Hold Your Breath, to the delicate subtlety needed for gloriously beautiful piano ballads like AmenJena.

For so long Nicole was just ‘the lead singer out of the pussycat dolls’, then, come her brilliant role as a guest judge on X Factor last year, we begun to see her blossom into a fully fledged star in her own right. Killer Love is the culmination of that. Lead single Poison comes on like The Prodigy; bleepy techno synths and machine-gun-like beats snapping away. Nicole spits out the chorus with a passion that could set light to the coldest of hearts.

It’s nice that they’ve featured Nicole’s collab with Enrique Iglesias on the album too, interestingly in an edited and remixed form that injects it with a bit more dancey-ness. Basically a big fat bassline slapped on that helps the song slot in a little easier with the hype- energy of the rest of the album. I adored the track when it was released last year; all its spacey love-on-the-dancefloor vibes and late-night passion was transfixing. That hypnotic, floaty quality the track carries itself with. That piano hook hammers itself into your consciousness, the strongest of aural hooks; the literal heartbeat at the core of the song.

To be fair, there are a few weaker moments across the album. Take, Right There; while every inch the radio friendly single, it sounds like it could have been cut and pasted straight off a Rihanna album. Here, Nicole’s individually that carries so much of the rest of the album sinks and fades away.

Where Killer Love is at its absolute best is on the title track. Here, the beats stomp, stomp away like factory machinery – unstoppable, impossibly powerful. Any other artist would find themselves lost amidst the noise, drowning in it all. But Nicole rides the music like she’s having the time of her life. The chorus is incredible, anthemic; everything you want from a pop tune in 2011. It’s even got a big chanty bit that is custom-built to be shouted out across arenas and stadiums across the world. When I first heard Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance I described it as a discotheque getting fucked by a train, and Killer Love is like that, but ten times bigger... and dare I say it, potentially better.

And then there’s Club Banger Nation. Anyone who names a track on their album that wins a hell of a lot of points from me. Here, the euro-dance leanings reach their climax as Nicole cries ‘tell me can you feel it’ before chucking in the customary ‘RedOne!’ shoutout. But God yes can we feel it. There’s the wonderfully groovy ‘we can stay until the sun comes up’ bit that makes you wish you could be out partying away right this minute. Then there’s some wild and seemingly random guitar riffing and Nicole screams a bit – again the fun element. That’s what Killer Love as an album is; pure fun, pumped through the ‘club banger’ machine. And it’s delivered an absolutely cracking creation.

Depeche Mode - Remixes 2: 81-11

Now this is what I call a fantastic CD tracklisting:

1. Dream On - Bushwacka Tough Guy Mix Edit (2001)
2. Personal Jesus - The Stargate Mix (2011)
3. Suffer Well - M83 Remix (2006)
4. John The Revelator - UNKLE Reconstruction (2006)
5. In Chains - Tigerskin's No Sleep Remix Edit (2011)
6. Peace - SixToes Remix (2009)
7. Tora! Tora! Tora! - Karlsson And Winnberg (from Miike Snow) Remix
(2011)
8. Never Let Me Down Again - Eric Prydz Remix (2011)
9. I Want It All - Roland M.Dill Remix (2011)
10. Wrong - Trentemøller Remix (2009)
11. Puppets - Röyksopp Remix (2011)
12. Everything Counts - Oliver Huntemann And Stephan Bodzin Dub
(2006)
13. A Pain That I'm Used To - Jacques Lu Cont Remix (2005)

Those new Personal Jesus and Never Let Me Down Again mixes in particular really excite me. As two of Depeche's best tracks, I can't wait to hear what contemporary spin has been put on them. Now, you might all cry that Depeche Mode only put out a remix compilation seven years ago, but to be honest, when you've been in the game as long as they have and got such a consistent back catalogue, you're pretty free to do whatever the hell you want. And as a massive Depeche Mode fan, I'll be first in the line to lap this up. Last year's Tour of the Universe was breathtaking, and with every album release Depeche bring out, I can only marvel again and again at the sheer force of power in their music. True icons.

Remixes 2: 81-11 is released 6th June.

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - Belong

There are lashings of The Cure’s 80s glory days all over the new album from The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart. Entitled Belong, it’s a gloriously poppy piece of guitar driven rock. At its best moments tracks like My Terrible Friend and Heart In Your Heartbreak channel shiny a-Ha-esque synths against a frenetic rhythm section. And with the help of legendary producer Flood stamped all over the album too, you’re assured of quality.

And that’s what you get here. For songs that seem drenched in whimsical, day-dreamy vibes, the album is remarkably consistent. Anne With An E twinkles like the first touches of the sun breaking from the clouds. Across the album, there seems to be constant searching for that ever-unobtainable perfection in life. Caught up in hopes and dreams, we’re led on a merry chase through a vivid and colourful landscape of sound and light. This is music to prick up the ears of the casual listener, to suck them away into the magic of the album too.

There’s a sense of two stories running side by side here too. On the most obvious level, the sound itself. A pocketful of sound snatched up from the late 80s and early 90s, it remains thrillingly retro. But equally, dressed up in the best of modern production values and enthused with the energy and vigour that any indie band worth their salt has these days, the album also slides effortlessly alongside their contemporaries. When you hear the likes of The Vaccines on the radio, any of the tracks from Belong could easily be a long-lost cousin. Never the same, but of the same thread.

There’s also a duality in the album as a whole too – for as consistent as it is, there are no obvious singles here. This is an album that needs to be digested as a whole. And in a way it benefits from that; such is the chilled beauty of some of the tracks, that to sample them only in small doses would be a great shame. This is a work that needs your full attention and time to properly breathe. But don’t mistake that for it being dull or not instant enough. Oh no, as an album, Belong grabs you from the outset, and at its best, it represents a shining beacon of inspiration.

Belong is released on the 28^th March.

Clare Maguire - Light After Dark

There's such an abundance of female singer-songwriters around at the moment that you're almost spoilt for choice. But Clare Maguire is the real thing. The genuine article. I've been in love with the scattering of free downloads and EPs she's released previously but now comes the debut album, the real test of her talent.

And you know what, for my penny's worth, this is a better album than those by Jessie J and Adele that are floating around in the shops at the moment. Both of those also represent extremely strong efforts, but with Clare Maguire, she makes things seem effortless. For her, the music becomes one and the same with her. Her sound is magical, deeply soulful, and comes back to the solid core of pure beauty that are her vocals. And boy are they amazing.

There's something of a Leona Lewis to Clare's voice, that husky deepness that speaks of raw passion and lends itself so well to big power ballads. Imagine the likes of Bonnie Tyler and Alison Moyet; those big female 80s voices you just don't get anymore. Clare is all this and more.

The 80s vibe manifests itself across the album which blends icy electronics and thunderous, industrial beats with piano. The Last Dance sees Clare at her most delicate and catchy, a pop gem as strong as anything Ellie Goulding can throw out.

In terms of highlights, they comes towards the end of the album; look out for the stunning You're Electric and the title track. Both see Clare at her most epic - so much so that they become almost filmic. There's this breathtaking futuristic/gothic feeling to the sound, music to sweep up and around the arches and halls of churches and cathedrals... and then on, higher and higher to the stars... onwards to the very limits of the universe.

Light After Dark is an album without bounds. It is vastly inventive, with Clare's talent laid bare for all to see. The sound is cold, but the emotions are infinitely open; tapping into memories we've all experienced. This is music on a universal scale, and Clare most definitely has what it takes to carry it.

Ringo Deathstarr - Colour Trip

Consistency. It’s a rare thing for an album to achieve. Even harder is maintaining that consistency while showcasing a variety of sounds. To create that truly versatile, gripping, wonderful album... well, it takes a lot of talent. Enter Ringo Deathstarr, who make a rather good go of doing just that with their album Colour Trip.

There’s touches of The Cure all over the album, that same keen balance between  jovial, light-heartedness and the melancholy. Tracks like the brilliant single So High represent the band at their most cheery, delicate nursery-rhyme-like melodies swirling over a jumble or sonic delights. There’s a swirl of energy at the heart of this song - and most of the album for that matter - that sucks you in.

Kaleidoscope is even more infected with the sound of the 80s, smeared in the sounds of grim urban streets. There’s something of The Stone Roses masterpiece of a debut in the vocals and gritty, scratchy guitar-work as well as dashes of The Chameleons. This vibe continues onto Day Dreamy, all post-punk and echoey. It’s funny as hailing from Texas, Ringo Deathstarr are as about as far from the American deep-south as you can get. If it wasn’t for the accents, they’d sound almost unmistakeably British. And if you ever feel the whimsical edges are getting too much, tracks like Chloe brings a strong rock core back to the album with big, epic guitar solos.

The album Colour Trip seems particularly apt. This is an artistic sort of album. The whole female/male vocal duo works very well and it’s something I always think we should hear more of in music. Colour Trip feels like a painting, each part carefully applied to another, building and building until the entire creation presents itself. Perhaps that’s the secret to its consistency. Either way, this is an album that will keep you coming back for more, chiefly because it offers so much. It’s an album that wants you to explore deeper and deeper into it. Taken at face value, this is an extremely strong rock album with lots of lovely retro touches. But zooming in, picking the various pieces apart, it holds so much more.

Colour Trip is available to download on iTunes now.

James Blake - James Blake

There’s a danger when so much hype is placed upon you, that you are never quite able to live up to it. But that’s not something London singer-songwriter James Blake has to worry about, because his self-titled debut is sensational – and in all the right ways.

Most of you will have heard his inspired cover of Feist’s Limit To Your Love on the radio, but placed in the context of the album, it sounds even better. The bass throbs away when you least expect it, and if you’re listening on good quality speakers, it really is something else. This isn’t just music you hear, it’s music you feel.

James’s vocals lie at the heart of this; they’re soulful, packed with emotion, and the way he multi-tracks them throughout the album, laying one layer on top of another presents a unique and attention-grabbing experience for the listener. The layers slide in and out of each-other, coming forward then falling back like waves, the sound of a distant idyllic shore.

Tracks like To Care (Like You) are classic chill-out, and those looking for a simple categorisation of this album will find it there. Despite all the singer-songwriter stuff being bandied around, this is a laid back electronic album at its core – tripped out beats and bleepy synths painting minimalistic soundscapes. The important thing though is that James’s personality and soul is what takes this album to the next level; that gives it that personal element, reaching out beyond the CD player and into the air itself. The top 10 UK chart placing the album has already achieved is testament to that personal connection being made.

This is an unpredictable album – it will never do what you expect it to do. See Why Don’t You Call Me? as a prime example. It starts off as a simple, piano led ballad. Even the name seems steeped in classic love overtures. But then halfway through, the techno-wizardry kicks in, the James Blake magic as it were, and the tracks skips and jumps away with itself, chilling altered vocals breathing out over stabs of icy static.

In its most outré moments, like the almost entirely acapella Lindisfarne I, vocoder is thrown into the mix – threatening to make the album seem almost too cold, too mechanical. But it never does. Instead the robotic touches only add to the charm; they are part of the mystique, part of the wonder and awe that James Blake casts on the listener. His debut is without doubt an intensely beautiful album, instilled with a distinct sense of identity. And it lives up to every single inch of the hype.