Giraffe

On the strength of his second L.P. Volume 2, Echoboy – aka Richard Warren – found himself cast as a purveyor of the kind of icy, esoteric electro, much beloved of aging clubbers now being battered by the demands of a PhD.

Giraffe sounds like a conscious step back from that – an attempt to give a more humane and recognisably melodic bent to his work. When it’s successful, like on the wonderful ‘Comfort Of The Hum’ (“Concrete inspires me/Not your leafy silent village streets”), it could almost be Damon Gough fronting Depeche Mode. Scruffy wisdom wrapped in an alluringly glassy package. And while the quality dips in places (‘Fun In You’ is a cack-handed parody of early New Order), thanks to a restrained and niftily back-referencing production job from Flood, it’s never anything less than an interesting listen.

Warren is worth keeping an eye on. Giraffe suggests the burgeoning of a fascinating talent. “It’s never gonna happen to me,” he claims on one track, “Because I don’t look good on TV.” Let’s hope he’s mistaken.