Now that folk is officially back in vogue and settling on coffee tables nationwide, there's a strain at the moment of British singers taking their cues from the darker end of the English folk revival street, whether, to name two prime examples, Brighton's Willkommen Collective's multi-handed chamber sea shanties or Mary Hampton's Anne Briggs-esque gothic parables. Pumajaw, a duo who've been around the industry block for a while and whose previous album came under the auspices of the Fence Collective, are at the more atmospherically driven end of the spectrum, this fifth album seeing Pinkie Maclure's quietly seductive vocal pitted against John Wills' fingerpicked guitar and samples.Much as genres are meaningless, Pumajaw reside in the psych-folk area, not in the sense of an Akron/Family or so much that 'freak folk' business but more a Sandy Denny or Norma Waterson pushed down the route of so-called New Weird America where Joanna Newsom, CocoRosie and Six Organs Of Admittance reside. It's driven by Maclure's voice, sultry for the most part but capable of skyscraping heights and not averse to dropping in the odd disquieting whisper. 'Spangler', for instance, sees Maclure narrate some nameless dread against a hypnotic set of guitar and drum loops, while 'The Burning of Auchindoun''s Celtic touches and backing vocals from Alasdair Roberts give it the authentic touch (James Yorkston does similarly when turning up later on Lamkin, a traditional song which receives a lush glockenspiel and bubbling synth-aided makeover) against a shuddering, mesmeric backdrop. 'Buds' demonstrates exactly what's possible, as accordion and found sounds underpin a brooding lament which turns pastoral with the aid of stray woodwind before without warning introducing what sounds like electronically treated percussion loops, synth drones and ambient buzzing which lifts the song into a direction that references (gulp) folktronica without ever wanting to actually become it, without Maclure having to deviate her recent Alison Goldfrapp-recalling elegaic wistfulness.If only it could sustain that mood throughout. Some of the ethereal nature of the fingerpicked guitar and glissando bells or subtle keyboards Wills creates disappears over the edge into health food store background music, which might be an occupational hazard but in a field not hard up at the moment on tradition referencing while still very much modern storytelling intrigue doesn't help. Maclure's multi-octave voice, impressive and warmly intriguing as it is without succumbing to quirkiness, often feels like it's not being used to its fullest extent. Curiosity Box suggests that Pumajaw are capable of creating a soundscape and a set of moods to pull you into their own world, but more often than not leaves the listener on the outside requiring more earcatching substance to go with the production tricks. 56%Pumajaw on Myspace