Alice Costelloe - When It’s The Time

Continuing her musical reintroduction, Alice Costelloe - now releasing under her full name, after one too many queries as to whether the ‘Al’ diminutive she’d been using was in fact ‘A.I.’ - builds on the soft, sweet indie pop of last year’s ‘So Neurotic’ with a second EP, this time making use of the synth menagerie of producer Mike Lindsay. Centring on Alice’s delicate-yet-deliberate vocal once again, ‘When It’s The Time’ sees her dip in and out of an electronic palette – the surprisingly bassy line of the title track, the pep of ‘I Never Dance’ – while keeping focus on where her strength lies: providing a contemporary take on the kind of indie pop the ‘90s made a name for. ‘My Whole Life’ is every bit as wistful musically as its lyrics tell, while the best in show is ‘If I Decide’, fizzing with nostalgic warmth.