Words: Gareth O’Malley // Released on Mercury

We didn’t get off to be the best of starts with this one, we have to admit. The band name is still managing to irk us; we’re still not fans of the artwork, and as for the title… well, no, we dislike that even now.

The music, however, is much more appealing: for the most part, ‘Womb of Dreams’ is a delightfully eccentric mix of baroque pop and electro-pop that should turn heads if given the right exposure. Opener ‘Constellations’ is a fine slice of brooding, breathy pop that’s given an Oriental twist.

This album hops between styles rather well: from disco-influenced floor-fillers like ‘Veronica’s Veil’; through swirling synths and atmospherics (‘Side By Side’) and the kind of theatrics that Wild Beasts would have welcomed, back in their ‘Limbo, Panto’ days (‘When the Money’s Right’).

Brimming with melody and inventiveness, ‘Womb of Dreams’ is an arresting album that’s only really let down by two songs; ‘Choose Tonight’ and ‘Crowd Control’ are both as awkward as each other, an awkwardness that’s exacerbated by their positions in the tracklisting, and the latter in particular, which stands no chance when followed by ‘Almost There’, the record’s wonderfully affecting closer.

This lot are indeed almost there, but there are a few things that need to be worked out before their destination is reached. It’s disappointing that a mere brace of sub-par songs should set the album up for a fall, but, more than anything else, it’s Fan Death’s failure to keep up to their own high standards that’s their undoing. A shame, because this could have been special. Better luck next time, eh?

6.5