Both the album title and added presence of electronic sound sculptor Ulrich Schnauss on keyboards indicates that this U.K. quintet — whose 2005 track “Home” is the theme for HBO’s Big Love — still embraces the maximalist theory of dream pop. But while the songs are enveloped by layers of reverb-soaked acoustic guitars, and rumbling, rocket-launcher bass underpins each slinking chorus, repeated listens reveal that Simon Phipps’ whispered melodies are the album’s unexpected source of bliss. The result is a subtle sensory overload, with misty shoegazing sonics and earnest singer-songwriter gestures enhancing one another.
