Younghusband's latest is elegantly crafted if derivative indie-pop

Apparently, they retreated “to an old barn in Greenwich owned by an 84-year-old artist and his clairvoyant wife” - and, in some ways, you can tell. As with all of the projects associated with your Cate Le Bons and H. Hawklines and Sweet Baboos, this record not only carries a careworn, woolly outlook that can only be drawn from periods of sweet isolation, but an oddball, funhouse mirror sense of direction in terms of melodic structure and songcraft.

The woozy guitars that open the record, on “Translation”, could be drawn from Le Bon’s Mug Museum. But then the track opens into that standard Velvet Underground sprawl, which could be a pleasant surprise or a terrible shame, depending on how many times you’ve heard that be done in the past. The Feelies, on their looser mid-period records, did it best – and Yo La Tengo did it incredibly well, but the worst you could accuse Younghusband of doing is just doing it – dropping in a Velvets signifier to let folks know they’re serious about mid-tempo, highbrow indie pop.

“What’s Wrong”, which follows, is a pleasingly restrained garage-rocker. It sets the pace at ‘jog’, and rolls on with chiming guitars and hushed vocals. “Modern Lie” picks up the pace, with prominent bass and a keen sense of momentum. “Paradise In The Rain”, with its twee, sugary rush, is reminiscent of (but sadly nowhere near the standard of) The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and is an album standout.

“Different About You” is slow but steady, opening with a fizzing drum machine and unfolding into a Prom Night waltz. “Sucker” returns to the oddball sound of the album opener.

“Grinding Teeth”, which appears somewhere in the middle of the record, is far and away the highlight of the set. It has a gloriously hazy Wild Nothing/Deerhunter dream-pop sound, and adds a bit of sparkle to an otherwise anonymous set. It starts with exactly the same drum machine as “Different About You”, but develops into something far more interesting.

The songs here are elegantly crafted, and keenly constructed, but there is absolutely nothing on the record that you haven’t heard – done better - elsewhere. Your enjoyment of the album will depend entirely on just how much soft-focus, meandering indie music you can stomach.