Millimetre – 13 Homes

While summing up Millimetre’s sound isn't easy, The Blue Nile with laptops (or The XX remixed by Hot Chip, to put contemporary references to work) evokes some of the dislocated urban atmosphere which ebbs from Hymmigrant’s low-key opener, through industrial percussion to the claustrophobic echoes of A Stranger’s Face. Though born in small-town Ireland, the tone and timbre of city life flows through Millimetre’s baggy, synth pop creations (the cover is aptly illustrative).

The results can be glassy and distant: “I can’t walk these streets, tar and paving swallows me” begins one prickly track; “London dark draws its love... kill the newborn” threatens another. But there is levity, when the sun rises and dispels shadows from alleys and underpasses: Photo-Finish is cut-up Super Furry Animals churned out from circuits, while an old home-recording of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star at the close reaffirms familial closeness amidst the alienation.  [Chris Buckle]