Nedry - Condors

They may have crafted their sound amidst the frenetic urban sprawl of London, yet native trio Nedry’s debut album is entirely defined by its spacious, glacial soundscapes. Taking their lead from the latter-day avant-garde programming of Icelandic electro-eccentric Björk, Condors opens with A42’s staccato shots of sub-bass and crunching 8-bit beats, over which a skeletal melody of frosted atmospherics are aided by the gentle whispering of vocalist Ayu Okakita’s ghost-like refrain. From this point forth, Nedry retread the same terrain, though this is no bad thing given the subtle beauty of their vision, particularly throughout the hallucinatory loop of album highlight Swan Ocean and the lilting melancholia of Apples & Pears. It’s arguable whether Condors would so impress were it not for the blissful current of Okakita’s voice reining it in throughout. However, with her unique talent in place, this debut leaves its mark as a shimmering angel in the snow.[Paul Neeson]