Left of Manila

For all the claims of crossing the electronic soundscapes of Gazelle Twin with the psychedelic off-kilter melodies of Animal Collective, this is not by any stretch of the imagination (and it doesn’t) ground breaking electronica.

Opening the EP with the ambient, drowsy At Your Side; it’s a languorous journey to nowhere with some very weak vocals, that only add to the aimlessness of the song. Asleep In Stone isn’t quite and is marginally more involving. But with Trainway we are back on the sleeper. It’s no real surprise that Mish Pharaon and Ed Bentley bonded in France; it’s the home of prime musical somnambulists Air, and the band that primarily comes to mind.

To be fair, this in not unpleasant music; the three songs amble along nicely, eventually reaching their destinations. Not a lot happens on the way and life trundles on after. Fine for a journey up the motorway; the safer the better, but not what you want from a piece of music.