Undertheigloo - Colour Out Space

I have been a bit of a fan of this band since their 2005 debut album, Circlesend. If I remember rightly they had a track on iTunes track of the week or somesuch which cannot have done too much harm.

Originally Oxford based at the time when The Foals, Youth Movies adn the like were getting off the ground, Undertheigloo are apparently now London based and label their music indie/electronica/laptop rock which doesn't seem to invite the right image to me, but I guess it's their choice.

Their second album, Colour Out Space, has just been self-released, like their first, and is available through their web site and presumably later via iTunes etc. Three years seems like quite a wait for the second edition but I guess self-releasing is along and costly process.

Colour Out Space seems like an altogether punchier affair than Circlesend which I have to say has been a regular favorite for me since its arrival. Although this will sound like a criticism it isn't intended to be so - UTI sound comfortably old-fashioned to me (yes that did sound bad didn't it) and although their tracks seldom deliver an instant knockout punch they do get into my brain after a few plays and urge revisits.

Overall the soundstage always is appealingly deep and wide, instruments spread out and distinct- an expansive sound giving the ears space to breathe (yes I know that doesn't make sense). I find myself drawn to the guitar work ( not sure if its Ed or Rich), and Rich's sometimes fragile, underpowered vocals still carve out a place and help everything retain that calm, relaxed vibe that distinguishes their music for me.

I am still letting the new album settle in but the opener Rockscraper and later tracks like Inside the Ride, Battleships and Delicate seem destined to emerge as favourites - here's wishing UTI success with this and getting a wider audience (despite their extraordinary 349 millions MySpace friends)