Rock/Pop

The latest releases reviewed.

GOD IS AN ASTRONAUT Far from Refuge Revive ***

There's an art to the quiet-loud- quiet game and this Glen of the Downs trio have slowly perfected it over three albums. Like fellow travellers Explosions in the Sky, GIAA know that deafening calms, menacing moods and fragile thunderclaps go a long way to prolonging and coaxing an atmosphere. As with 2005's beautifully measured All Is Violent, All Is Bright, much of Far from Refuge's smarts come from the band's growing prowess as players, their finely honed techniques and a collective ability to craft duvet-like textures around each tune. Be it the simple lull of Sunrise in Aries or the mesmeric slap of sonics on the title track and Darkfall, there are very few times when GIAA fail to soar. www.godisanastronaut.com Jim Carroll

Download tracks: Sunrisein Aries, Far From Refuge

BRIGHT EYES Cassadaga Polydor ****

Conor Oberst has slowly but surely picked open the locks that threatened to hold him captive. His crime? Oberst was a child prodigy, releasing albums at the age of 13.

By 20 you would have expected his creative juices to have dried up or become stuck on a loop, but not a bit of it. By that stage, Bright Eyes - the cohesive unit solo Oberst morphed into - had been born. Cassadaga (a real-life spiritual community in Florida, not unlike Scotland's Findhorn, albeit with lots more sunshine) continues Oberst's search for nu-folk's holy grail of assigning reasonably serious and important themes to classic guitar-based melodies. Yet there's clearly a change of attitude here; the songs let their hair down, refusing to be chained to expectation, pulsing to the swing and rhythm of country music fiddles, pizzicato strings and the voice of a man who has grown comfortably into his own skin. www.thisisbrighteyes.com Tony Clayton-Lea

Download tracks: Classic Cars, Soul Singer in a Session Band

TWO LONE SWORDSMEN Wrong Meeting Rotters' Golf Club ****

Wrong Meeting is far removed from Andrew Weatherall and Keith Tenniswood's trademark razor- sharp electro sound. Trading in their samplers for guitars and drums, they make the transition from anonymous producers to whisky-sodden rockers with a soft spot for Nick Cave, The Fall and 1960s garage bands. Weatherall is an unassuming front man, but the narratives that accompany the murky, bluesy rhythms of Rattlesnake Daddy and the jagged punk guitars of No Girl in My Plan provide a compelling insight into the singer's private life as it goes

off the rails. At times uncomfortably close to the truth but never self-obsessed, Wrong Meeting even contains an unlikely hit in the form of the world-weary, deadpan account of music industry politics on Get Out of My Kingdom. It's so wrong, yet it sounds just right. www.rottersgolfclub.co.uk Richard Brophy

Download tracks: this is a vinyl-only release

CYANN & BEN Sweet Beliefs Ever ****

Melancholy is the way of the walk for Cyann & Ben, four Parisians whose beautifully pensive and unhassled sounds make for perfectly drowsy Sunday morning soundtracks. Their third album also works well on other days of the week, its evocative scores and dusty songs reminding you of a broad clutch of acts without ever quite resorting to the photocopier. Those who favour somnolent pop music, slow-motion squawks and minor-key dramatic turns will find much to savour on the majestic sweep of Sunny Morning, the track which dominates this album, or the bittersweet shuffle of Guilty. There are times, of course, when all the pale, self-conscious introspection begins to lag, but it's about this time that the band show they're also capable of turning their hands to a couple of Krautrock wig-outs. By the time Sparks Of Love has finished its cascade of ebbs, flows and coos, you too should be hooked. www.everrecords.com Jim Carroll

Download tracks: Sunny Morning, Sparks Of Love

DELORENTOS In Love with Detail Cottage ****

You can't beat a good band name with sleazy overtones, and when Delorentos (means "rent boys") reformed, they wisely kept theirs. Happily their music lives up to their name: this is a heady concoction of smart, punchy guitar tunes that are guaranteed to send 'em home sweating from the local indie disco. A satisfyingly high standard is emerging from the rehearsal rooms of Ireland these days, and Delorentos can easily hold their own with the Directors and Immediates of this land. A pleasant surprise awaits those who liked recent singles The Rules and Basis of Everything - such songs as Eustace Street, Until the Next Time and Leave the Boy Alone prove they haven't blown their wad on the seven-inches. The album's styles veer between Snow Patrol-type earnestness on Eyes Open (no relation) and Kooks-type staccato pop on Stop, but always stay firmly on the upstroke. www.delorentos.net Kevin Courtney

Download tracks: Stop, Leave the Boy Alone, The Rules