Camera Obscura - Desire Lines (2013)
I'm a bit disappointed by this despite having high hopes. The album seems flat, plodding and lacks the immediate stand-out tunes of their past albums. However with their previous albums some of my favourite songs emerged after multiple listens so a few more spins might reveal more. I do like that they did away with the string and brass sections and stripped the sound back to the core a bit, I just wish they could have made the most of it.
These New Puritans - Field of Reeds (2013)
I was unimpressed my their previous album
Hidden but this is far more enjoyable. From what I remember of
Hidden it was more rhythm-focused and got slightly under my skin. This album feels far more relaxed, free-flowing and far more interesting. Some of the sparse, loose drumming and gentle, sweeping synths remind me of later-era Talk Talk but at the same time something a bit different. Seems like a good album to chill to on a lazy summer evening.