Laki Mera - The Proximity Effect

This time around Glaswegian five-piece Laki Mera are taking the novel approach of expecting you to pay for their music. Their debut, 2008’s ‘Clutter’ was handed out as a free download prior to a hopefully still relevant full release, revealing a band of quiet confidence, in both their marketing skills and their adept, low-key electronica. ‘Clutter’ was anything but messy and, in this delicately formed follow-up, Laki Mera continue to pursue a neat, polite pop.

But for a couple of instrumental doodles - including the eerie, jazzy flex of closer ‘The End Of The Beginning’ and ‘Pollack Park”s itchy and at-a-push danceable shuffle - ‘The Proximity Effect’ is dominated by Laura Donnelly’s gossamer voice. I say “dominated”, but Donnelly is rarely more than unassuming, occupying a range somewhere between Suzanne Vega and Laetitia Sadler, or ghosting towards Sonya Aurora Maden on the sweet ‘Fingertips’. In darker times, her sort of tone would grace a legion of trip-hop meanders and, to be honest, Laki Mera hardly shy away from that kind of thing themselves. You might feel a biting urge to jump-start some of ‘The Proximity Effect’ - the echoing ‘Solstice’, say, or the low-humming ‘How Dare You’ - or you might keep faith to hear where Laki Mera take their light touch. It’s worth a bit of patience.

‘Onion Machine’ is another Stereolab touchstone, wedding a motorik vitality to brooding cello and generally waking up the middle of the album. There’s already been a good chorus on the electro bustle of ‘More Than You’ and an unexpected - and unexpectedly welcome - reminder of Mancunian folk-rock mystics James on ‘Double Back’, but the fact is these tracks are just poking through the breeze, through a gentle waft of unbothersome ambience. The second half of the record is more of the same, notable mainly for some Lykke Li-very-lite on ‘Fool’ and resonant, interesting folk-play on ‘Reverberation’, without significantly interrupting the prevailing drift.

This is all very pleasant, but nothing is screaming for attention. That’s the nature of the beast, of course, and if you’re after a new Lamb - or even Sneaker Pimps - ‘The Proximity Effect’ should satisfy that yen. Others may want more personality, more oomph. Different strokes.