Ultimate Painting bring their antiquated chemistry back to life with Green Lanes

Presenting dark topics over blissed-out, sun-kissed melodies, the duo balance a tightrope of the spirited and the shaken. It's a fine line to walk on, but Ultimate Painting make it sound so simple.

Single "(I've Got The) Sanctioned Blues" roams through routine with a refreshingly optimistic sound. Breezy rhythms and jaunty guitars saunter ceaselessly, taking every problem that echoes in the lyrics in their stride.

"Woken By Noises" is another welcome change of pace; vocals drawl, guitar refrains ramble, and - while out of sync with the rest of the record - the track's energy engages more than anything else Green Lanes has to offer.

When Ultimate Painting connect with the listener, the result is spellbinding. The misery of "Sweet Chris" is balanced out by buoyant rhythms, as '60s nostalgia reaches it's height in the contagious chorus hooks. "The Ocean" tides you though wistful words with rippling guitar riffs and serenely floating vocals. Similarly, the meandering riffs and searing synths of "Paying The Price" might be somber, and the lyrics disconsolate, but the track's sadness can be potently felt through every mournful refrain.

"I was lost, I was lost in the fog," lyrics echo on "I Was Lost" - and indeed, the same can be said for much of Green Lanes, a record adrift in a haze. Personal tales of displacement and depression resound with a listlessness that, in all fairness, should be expected for such topics. Appropriate as that may be, it makes Green Lanes hard to get excited by.

Progression and ingenuity is limited, and though it's hard to find cause for stimulation, it's no easier to find find particular fault. Green Lanes is rooted in it's own moment, passing without much incident, shining brief, but bright, and remaining charming.