School of Night. The name provides a strong clue to the flavour of the record: eerie, ethereal, slightly melancholy. But this would come as no surprise if you happened to know that School of Night is, incidentally, the project of one Darby Cicci, multi-instrumentalist and producer of The Antlers.

There is no doubt: if you are a fan of Cicci’s work with The Antlers, you will want to own this EP. At only five tracks long, there’s no room for any overarching mega-narrative, or complex, multilayered analogies about abusive relationships and all that intellectualising that makes Antlers albums like Hospice such fun, fun rides. Anyway, you can breathe a sigh of relief, because while School of Night won’t make you want to lock yourself in the bathroom and cry for hours, it does have the sonic landscape of an Antlers EP.

In fact, pretty much every track on the record bears at least one hallmark of a typical Antlers tune: Soaring vocals – check. Tinkling, melancholy piano – check. And, just for good measure, a smattering of medical references - see ‘Doktor’. ‘Vaccum’ is one example of how the EP’s layered with the same simple yet striking brass motifs that create the sense of solemnity that is so intrinsic to his work with band mates Peter Silberman and Michael Lerner.

Now, you may ask, what is point in making these comparisons? Fair point. Cicci is an incredibly talented musician, songwriter and producer in his own right. But, if the School of Night EP says anything about Cicci’s relationship to his other band, it shows exactly how vital he is to the group. After listening to School of Night, you realise that Cicci plays an integral role in the creation of the luscious textures on the albums which shot them to fame.

Perhaps it is unsurprising, then, that some of the strongest tracks here are those where Cicci really breaks the mould to show us exactly what he is capable of. The snyth-orientated tunes, such as lead number ‘Lying’, are probably where Cicci is at his most inventive. But if there’s one song you absolutely must listen to on this EP, it’s ‘Fire Escape’, with its slow, sultry bass line paired with Cicci’s trademark brass motifs; the dark, erotically charged lyrics juxtaposed with Cicci’s pure, ringing vocals; the swirling synths and minimalist guitar.

In brief, over the course of five tracks, Cicci shows himself to be a song writer with formidable range: from enchantingly melancholic to out and out seductive. He’s really got something.