His name is alive - Someday my blues will cover the earth (4AD)

Don't let the title deceive you. There isn't a lot of blues on here, apart from 'Karin's blues'. But there is also a lounge music touch about this as well and don't be put off by this but they are the sort of band whose atmospherics would go own well in an up-market cocktail bar.

Opener 'Nothing special' is, in fact, the exact opposite of what it claims to be. Delicate and touching it is almost soulful. Lovetta Pippen makes you think she is Brandy fronting Portishead. 'One year' could easily be the Smashing Pumpkins at their most mellow with its ringing open chords and electronic drums. A funky fuzz-ridden bass holds everything together while Lovetta asks "Would you like to be alone?" and "If you had one year to live do you know who you would like to spend it with?"

Fragmented interludes appear in the form of short instrumentals that let the songs flow seamlesly into each other. Lovetta shows off her dynamic vocals and angelic voice with a wide range of ascending and descending scales without ever overindulging herself. Soft melodies are plucked out on the guitar and melancholic strings sweep throughout as Warn Defever shows that Lovetta is not the only star in the band.

Ken McGrath