Lamb

This third effort from the pairing of Andy Barlow and Louise Rhodes could be seen as a bit of a turning point and a rebirth for the duo. After the touring of their last release (the brilliant Fear of Fours), the two came very close to packing it all in. In fact, they had indeed decided to call it quits, but it was this agreement to part ways that they had time to reflect and realised they needed to carry on. So out of this resurgence comes What Sound, a beautifully structured album that seems a little stripped-down from past recordings. Instead of heavily dousing tracks with mass amounts of electronic chaos, the two have opted for more lush sounds, via guitars and various strings, as well as giving the album a very spiritual feel. This ethereal sound comes through clearly with the epic "Gabriel," which brings Rhode's voice to a majestic level, and also continues with the somewhat Egyptian-sounding "One." There are in fact some weaker tracks (usually on the more up-beat dance tip) that don't seem to hold up to these more magnificent cuts. Even though these blemishes don't spoil the experience, they do tend to hold back What Sound's full potential. Even a collaboration with the mighty Scratch Perverts seems a little dry, but thankfully this release delivers Rhode's vocals in top form and goes out on a couple of high notes that will hopefully carry onto an already anticipated fourth record