Album Review: Luluc Sculptor

Folk duo run gamut from brilliant to bland. The dark side of suburban bliss has been a recurring obsession for Australian his 'n' hers alt.country duo Luluc. They return to their favourite theme on their third album, which features production from The National's Aaron Dessner and what seems to me a somewhat incongruous guitar solo from Dinosaur Jr's J. Mascis.

Sculptor isn't a record that grabs you by the lapels. Though the lyrics are often torrid, the tone is curiously laidback and dreamy, with Zoë Randell chirruping sadly on the lulling 'Heist', and 'Controversy' featuring somnolent finger-picking from Steve Hassett.

Most devastating of all is 'Cambridge', a sad folk incantation on which Randell sounds utterly bereft. Elsewhere, though, a whiff of easy listening pervades, with Randell delivering a remarkable Karen Carpenter impersonation on the less than inspiring 'Genius' and, on 'Moon Girl', sounding as if she's auditioning for the Christine McVie part in a Fleetwood Mac covers band. Sculptor is a mixed bag.

Out now

Rating 6/10