Album number two from Windmill (or Matthew Thomas Dillon) which finds Epcot Starfields in the same musical arena as debut offering Puddle City Racing Lights.Dillon maybe no longer in the gutter looking at puddles, because this time around he’s staring at the stars, but stylistically we are in similar territory.Once again Dillon’s main topics of alienation, separation and despair are covered extensively. However depressing this may sound, Windmill has a way of tackling such subjects that is almost childlike in the delivery. Part of this stems from Dillon’s vocals which are, it must be said, an acquired taste. Occupying a part of the register that is usually reserved for babies, helium addicts and puppets that you’d happily see dead, to say that Dillon’s voice is high pitched would be to state the obvious. In addition his delivery is filled with a cracked naivety that carries more emotional weight than the legs of a suicidal elephant.Once tackled and appreciated, Dillon’s voice is essential to what makes Windmill such a phenomenal listen. Almost every song here (and indeed apparently everything he’s ever written) pulls at your emotions. Whether it’s the seemingly joyfully sing-a-long of 'Ellen Save Our Energy' (which calls to mind the children’s party sensibility of the Flaming Lips more upbeat numbers) or the slowly evolving thrum of 'Airsuit' Â invoking the vastness of space, Windmill has a way of provoking an emotional response with hardly any effort at all. It’s not just Dillon’s voice that creates such a reaction, but the carefully orchestrated string sections that grace 'Big Boom' or the fantastic 'Sony Metropolis Star's play a huge part too. For the most part though it’s Dillon and his piano poking at you, trying to find a way in, and forcing you to think about things you really don’t want to have to face.Take the centrepiece of this record, 'Epcot Slow' for example. A beautiful piano accompanied with a tinkling bell introduces the song like a round of chopsticks. Dillon’s voice wobbles considerably during the verse, but it’s when you get to the chorus he really sticks the knife in. No longer singing solo he’s joined by a small choir chanting “We want parents to live for always, they won’t/they don’t want us to be sad when they’re gone”. It’s a truth that will relate to everyone differently depending on when that particular sentiment was first heard by the listener. Either way it’s a line filled with sadness and the strange kind of optimism that can be found at the centre of many Windmill songs.Epcot Starfields, like the album that preceded it, is a showcase of the wonderful talent of Matthew Thomas Dillon. There are some spectacular moments on it, and when everything clicks Windmill can be phenomenally beautiful. It can also be such an emotionally draining listen at times that it’s hard not to be concerned for Dillon. After all we can turn the stereo off; this stuff is banging around in his head constantly.Windmill on Myspace