The Boggs - Forts

On The Boggs' third album, Forts, the only ingredient that resurfaces often enough to rank as consistent is quality - a refreshing statement to be able to make, but also indicative of only having one permanent member (Jason Friedman). The licence to call on floating members from as illustrious backgrounds as Liars, Au Revoir Simone and Enon offers Friedman the confidence to go off in whichever direction he chooses. From the Rapture meets B52s-esque Remember The Orphans to Little Windows, akin to the Moldy Peaches covering Sufjan Stevens, this burst of hyperactivity is almost relentlessly propelled along by seemingly 6-armed drummer Peter Hale. Only Friedman's dangerously exposed vocal on the stripped down and carelessly placed middle track, After the Day, disappoints: his penchant for constant layering is his voice's best ally and music's most glowing attribute, fixing for an album that occasionally sounds as though he's blissfully confused the mixing desk for the drawing board. [Finbarr Bermingham]