Hospitality – Trouble

There are infuriatingly-fleeting flashes of brilliance on Hospitality’s second album, Trouble. The subtle, gorgeous key change on the two-line chorus of set highlight Rockets and Jets; the throbbing synth excellence of Last Words, a track that could’ve been lifted straight from the Drive OST and the warm 70s AM drumbeat of Going Out which, combined with Amber Papini’s aloof vocal, recalls Husky Rescue circa Ghost Is Not Real.

That such moments sparkle so brightly, however, is due in part to the relative doldrums by which they find themselves surrounded. Too many of the songs are hollow shades of beige: see the loungy Sullivan which, great Scott, sounds like a cut from a sub-par Enchantment Under The Sea pastiche, the forgettable I Miss Your Bones and Morcheeba-aping Sunship which does Hospitality’s chances of nailing a Groove Armada remix no harm at all. The highlights could’ve made a great EP, but the chaff proves bothersome to sit through. [Finbarr Bermingham]