They should have called it The Joy of Loops, or something; because that’s where the fun of listening to Glasgow duo Conquering Animal Sound lies. It’s maybe best experienced live when you’re able to watch Anneke Kampman and James Scott interact with their various pieces of gadgetry, and you can get some idea of how they create the intrigue that’s peppered their releases so far.

The lovely debut Kammerspiel was nominated for the inaugural SAY Award – a worthy nominee – and garnered plenty of critical acclaim, meaning that the old difficult second album was an eagerly awaited one. Any worries that the duo wouldn’t be able to match their debut are easily dispelled with the music of On Floating Bodies, their first release with Chemikal Underground.

While generally speaking things haven’t changed too much, On Floating Bodies strikes you as a less immediately warm and welcoming listen – but that is no bad thing in this case. What we get, from the moment ‘Ultimate Heat Death of the Universe’ opens up with buzzing synths and precise percussive clicks supporting Kampman’s pinpoint delivery, is intensity and focus, and pure immersion in CAS’s musical world. ‘The Future Does Not Require’ adds organ drones and electronic flutters, and Kampman has never sounded more like Bjork, leading to comparisons with the Icelander’s Vespertine record, which is no bad thing in terms of Bjork-isms. ‘Warn Me’ is CAS at their most propulsive, with what is also their most “orchestral” moment to date: a strident beat gives way to a chorus which positively soars over xylophone, swells of brass and Kampman’s voice as she uses it as an additional form of percussion.

Yet moments of emotion do seep through the gleaming metallic cracks from time to time: on the drip-drop beat of ‘I’ll Be Your Mirror’ Scott’s instrumentation takes a back seat and allows Kampman to produce her most direct and naked vocal performance on the record with, of course, some added looped and layered versions of herself to harmonise with. ‘Ipse’, while not displaying the same honesty as the former, is a gorgeously caressing lilt that recalls Julianna Barwick at her best and is the closest thing to a warm embrace you’ll find here. ‘Mimese’ is similar in tone, but we’re kept at arm’s length this time by Kampman cryptically singing “Eat what you can while you are away”, and then ‘Treehouse’ finds Kampman in intense mode, matched by Scott building a backing of sheer vibrancy through rhythm and layering – this is the only song where I found that the sound of a guitar could clearly be heard.

If it’s anything, On Floating Bodies is a lesson in how to make a layered electronic record from the bottom upwards without a hint of a sample in sight. And that’s what Kampman and Scott should be most proud of as Conquering Animal Sound. This is their sound: precise and controlled without being cold, with a more than a bit of depth and intelligence to boot. A duo as creative as this surely can only continue to improve.