Matteah Baim - Laughing Boy

Previously half of Metallic Falcons with Sierra Casady (of weird dream-pop eccentrics CocoRosie), second album Laughing Boy reveals Matteah Baim to be more grounded than her erstwhile colleague - for better and worse. The opening quartet is typical of the mixed results: Pagoda’s quivering strings set the ethereal tone, but it’s too insubstantial to stir up enthusiasm; miniature moodscape The Runner – thirty seconds of very little - does nothing to shift the impression that Baim isn’t the maverick her background suggests; while He Turned My Mind Around’s laid-back groove proves there’re fewer more boring sounds than aimless ‘jamming’. But then Birthdays arrives and begins Laughing Boy’s rehabilitation from soporific wish-wash to delicate delight. An a cappella Bird of Prey pays tribute to inspiration and fellow psychedelic Jim Morrison, while the mantric sitar and handclaps of Temple Dogs shows that, though patchy, Baim’s capable of the occasional magic moment.