Brazos – Saltwater

Since his 2009 debut Phosphorescent Blues, Martin Crane (who performs as Brazos, perhaps to avoid being confused with Frasier’s pop) has relocated from his native Austin, Texas to Brooklyn, New York, swapping one fertile creative landscape for another and soaking up inspiration from both locales.

Of his new neighbours, there are distinct whispers of Grizzly Bear’s urbane precision and Vampire Weekend’s cosmopolitanism across Saltwater (both acts for whom Brazos has opened for in the past). The album’s textured, layered instrumentation evidences Crane’s broad palette, with much to take in between the afrobeat flavoured pop of opener Always On and the low-key blues of closer Long Shot. But while there are no major errors of judgement to spoil proceedings, there are lesser offerings amidst the tracklisting that fail to impress themselves as confidently as the album’s highlights, rendering this an assured but as-yet-unperfected expression of a definite talent. [Chris Buckle]