Diagrams – Diagrams (2011)

Lean, artfully constructed dream-pop from this Tunng-related London troupe, making their eagerly anticipated debut on Full Time Hobby. The Beta Band, Hot Chip, Clor and Badly Drawn Boy are all obvious touchstones for Diagrams’ combo of hook-laden, heartstring-tugging songcraft, elegant chamber instrumentation and quirky electronics. ‘Hills’ is an instant winner, whimsical but tightly controlled in a Talking Heads sort of way, with colliery brass parping and synths squelching across an agreeably jerky time signature. ‘Night All Night’ and ‘Ice Breakers’ are more conventional but still very likeable, reminding us of Sufjan Stevens or Super Furry Animals at their most dewy-eyed, while compactly surreal lyrics and lush string parts conspire to make ‘Antelope’ gallop along like its namesake.The woozy horns and reverbed harmonies of ‘Icebreakers’ suggest Old Rottenhat-era Robert Wyatt before unfolding into an ambience of faintly ominous seaside field recordings. On the evidence of this spritely, idea-packed EP, Diagrams are destined to become the UK’s latest art-rock darlings. Catch ‘em on the rise.