Tunng – Turbines

Frontiersmen and women of the ‘folktronica’ movement, Tunng have long blended gentle, well-rounded folk melodies with morsels of twee electronic experimentation, making music akin to a cosy hand-knitted cardigan with a high-vis lining. Album number five, with its rustic instrumentation and unisonous him ’n’ her vocals, doesn’t tread radically different ground from the previous four – no great shame, given that winsome formula.

Notably, though, the ‘tronica’ element of their adopted subgenre is dialled down, and with it, Tunng’s trademark sense of qurkiness. Ironic samples and glitchy distortions are noticeably rarer than previous outings, conceding to a more pared-down, straightforward songwriting approach. Tracks like The Village and Once have a sweet, bouncy simplicity and a wholesome warmth that only the stoniest hearts could begrudge. Only closing number Heavy Rock Warning ventures towards unworldly off-beats; otherwise, Turbines may be the band’s most accessible record to date. [John Nugent]