Siskiyou – Nervous

This third album from the Canadian ensemble led by Colin Huebert continues largely where 2011's Keep Away the Dead left off. Its feather-light constituents (brushed percussion, acoustic guitar, distant piano) feel somehow passé: at times, as verses give way not so much to choruses or hooks, but to a swell and a rise in volume, Siskiyou recall the dynamics employed similarly by fellow Canadians Arcade Fire. Huebert's barely-there vocals only add to the overall tone: chill, and oddly uninvolving.

If it had other cards to play, if it was stuffed with melody, if it had a mordant wit or dared to be wry, even, it might connect. But Nervous is a deliberate, studied work: it shrinks in the shadow of its name. It flickers into life when it plays it a little more trad, most notably on Wasted Genius and Oval Window. But overall, it’s a self-regarding work, one whose undoubted artistry struggles to conceal its selfish heart.