The Foundling Wheel – May Day/10:24

May Day sees The Foundling Wheel (AKA Edinburgh-based Ted Koterwas) moving on from an abrasive 2008 debut with perhaps his most immediate offering to date. Produced by Miaoux Miaoux’s Julian Corrie, a fractured cymbal rush is layered over scraping noise and a New Wave-inspired melody which, when coupled with trembling, emotive vocals filled with sorrow and hope, provides a curious synth-punk oddity.

Second A-side 10:24 is more driven by comparison; an understated voice and synth hurtles towards a bombastic percussive finale. It’s fun, it’s carefree, yet it’s oddly anticlimactic – attempting to sustain an overabundance of 80s adoration but never quite managing to live up to its own pomp. Far from a lukewarm release, but it plays like a prototype for something more. [David Bowes]