We’ve waited on this release with bated breath after a refreshing EP and curious single from Diagrams. We were not disappointed – this playful album for dreamers is serious business – alternating between soft, emotional arrangements and bouncy syncopation.

These polar opposites effectively work together. My favourite track, the opener Ghost Lit, is reflective, softly masculine and gorgeously liquid. Despite the spacey feel it creates, there is so much going on that you don’t pick up on things until the second or third listen – like the strings, lazer-gun synths and texture creating percussion. On the flip side, Antelope is oddly adorable with horns, loads of rhythmic business going on and a rambling lead melody simultaneously infectious and hard to follow. Animals feels spiritual yet cheeky, using mechanised cricket noises and yet more percussion.

The lead vocal is almost always harmonised and duplicated to give a thick, calm yet authoritative tone. Call and response vocals give a sort of spiritual and otherworldly feeling. Irregular time signatures and foggy soundscapes give parts of the album a psychedelic, dreamer vibe, which fits really well with the warm vocal layering, drawing your focus further towards the voice. Sounding mainly like a band, it hits a perfect balance between guitars, orchestral instruments and electronic noise – each sound chosen and used exactly for purpose.

Black Light was confusing as the title track, with a much larger portion of it synthesised compared to the rest of the album and with less mystery – it’s much more of a pop track. Holding slightly less in its heart, we still loved it.

-Megan Clifton-