Pure X - Angel

They made that record after a decidedly trying year or so; breakups, cross-country moves and, for the medically uninsured Grace, a nasty skateboarding injury all contributed to a state of considerable turmoil during the album’s production. Suggestions that it might have been an exercise in catharsis are potentially vindicated by Angel, on which the band very much sound as if they’ve left their troubles behind; the drama of Crawling Up the Stairs is stripped away, replaced by lackadaisical guitars and a generally carefree atmosphere. Opener “Starlight” sets the tone; it glides along effortlessly, with Grace, so wracked by his demons last time out, suddenly sounding impossibly laid-back.

The higher production values of the last effort are retained here - there’s no return to Pleasure’s scuzziness - and they suit the move to leisurely pastures well; comparisons to Real Estate are obvious, but where Martin Courtney’s outfit are primarily purveyors of cleverly considered guitar lines, Pure X deal more readily in texture and mood. The atmospheric “Livin’ the Dream” sets everything, instrumentally speaking, to a quiet simmer; “Every Tomorrow”, on the other hand, brings the acoustic guitars to the front, factors in some subtle percussion and string work, and effectively casts Grace as a poppier Nick Drake in the process.

Probably Angel’s great triumph is that, despite very evidently only having one speed setting, it never feels particularly one-track; there’s just enough tonal variety to hold your attention. “Heaven”’s noodling guitars and floaty vocals are a neat sonic match for the refrain of “you can have it any time you want, heaven’s a feeling”; “Make You Want Me”, meanwhile, has Grace channeling the Bee Gees on one of the album’s hookiest cuts. The smart one-two of the gorgeously moody “Rain” and the hazy title track is perhaps the standout moment; there’s a real intelligence to the contrast between the two.

All things considered, Angel probably lacks the invention and imagination that it’d really require in order to be counted amongst the genuine candidates for the business end of the year’s ‘best-of’ lists; the sheer stylistic versatility that they’ve demonstrated, though, in swapping the claustrophobia of Crawling Up the Stairs for Angel’s wide-open spaces, should be enough to ensure that they’ll be there or there abouts.