A beatific blast from the past, just not the past your thinking of.

Last month's wonderful album by Ariel Pink showed us that looking to the past for inspiration doesn't necessarily have to result in lukewarm, overused melodies, and outdated, unnecessary production quirks. The Soundcarriers invest on this fact with their care-worn sophomore album 'Celeste', a delicate, ponderous but rarely disengaging album with all the depth of The Velvet Underground and all the whimsey of Syd Barret's Pink Floyd.

The 12 track record folds through it's paces like a hazy summer afternoon, each track breaking over the speakers like a fresh wave with hushed, jazz inflected instrumentation and smooth West Coast vocal harmonies (you'd never guess their from Nottingham!). Indeed marshmallow-lunged singer Lenore's gentle lilted vocals bring to mind the sunny intimacy of The Carpenters or The Mama's and the Papa's but without any of their cloying tweeness.

The songs are hard to tell apart initially but subsequent listens reveal a progressive edge to the opening 'Last Broadcast' which brings to mind mid 90's post-rockers Tortoise and an infectious bounce to mid album highlight 'Rolling On' which might pass you by on first listen as your likely to be just too blissfully sedated by the records warm, all encompassing glow. And this is even before we get onto the more dense, truly psychedelic tracks such as 'There Only Once' and the stunningly twisted 'Hideaway'.

The artier side of the mid to late 60's are a period more bands should really be exploring, the 80's and 70's have been mined for al their worth and The Soundcarriers have really discovered a honey-pot here that too few others bands are even looking for, seemingly content to just float with the flotsam. It's far from a perfect album and it will probably lose it's lustre as the trees lose their leaves come autumn, but for one hour at least Celeste will send you off with the fairies.

SOUNDCARRIERS MYSPACE

Benjamin Hiorns