Volume 2

Following on from Volume 1, released earlier this year, this third album from Echoboy’s Richard Warren is a moody, buzzy amalgam of the pounding guitar-drone Death in Vegas have patented, the brave-new-worldisms of Primal Scream’s Xxtrmntr and the slightly nerdy keyboard manifestos of the retro-80s/Krautrock set. It’s as noisy, mock-threatening and fun – and, occasionally, as disposable – as a high-tech, batteries-not-included toy lasergun.

The weirdest and most interesting things happen, however, when Warren wanders outside these parameters a bit. ‘Siobhan’ mopes along in a highly lovable Alpha-esque reverie; and ‘Make The City The Sound’s’ lonely Hal-The-Computer voice mourns ‘I feel so lonesome/I’m trying hard to learn how to forget’ over a cheesily gloomy Eurodisco stomp.

‘Sudwestfunk No. 5’ is probably what the New Wave synth movement sounded like in the stranger of the US Midwestern suburbs, while ‘Schram And Sheddle 262’ out-deaths Death in Vegas.

There are some low points: a debt to Brian Eno (‘Circulation’) is still in arrears, and ‘Kelly’s Truck’ goes straight into the But Is It Art? Bin. On the whole, however, Warren’s vision of the retro-future shines encouragingly brightly.