Craft Spells - Idle Laborr

'From the Morning Heat', fancying itself as The Cure's 'Just Like Heaven', or The Smiths 'There is a Light...' It should be that moment of nostalgic fantasy, leaving you rolling around in ecstacy, butterflies floating around your stomach at the blistering pace of the reckless racer in the Indie 2000 but ultimately, it fails to start as its engine is clogged up by unnecessary shoegaze suffocation.

It's a shame because there are truly great nostaligic moments that envelope you in a blanket of charming dreamscape atmospheres. 'Scandinavian Crush's, fluffy synth bass is The Drums' 'Best Friend' minus the drab repetitive superficiality and 'After the Moment' is Cyndi Lauper running through the streets, smiling and cheering, infectiously pleasing like a modern Pied Piper. But while it should pack the same punch as its forerunners, the over reverberance just clouds what should be the sting of Mohamed Ali, resulting in the earth shattering pound of a butterfly.

But alas, it's Justin Paul Vallesteros that falters's the most. It's not bad and in fact works terrifically well when given the correct outlet, the panoramic, escapist chimes of 'Given the Time' matching his wandering, breathless gasps as he whispers: "Desperately wanting a life without me". It's wonderfully stripped back and purely enchanting. But for the majority, it's disappointingly distant failing to meet the fantasy landscapes that have been handcrafted.. It's Patrick Swayze in Ghost but slapped with a restraining order as he stands at the back, disturbingly staring at Demi Moore ('Party Talk', 'You Should Close the Door'), and next to him is his partner in crime, amid the overwhelmingly needless "oohs" and "ahhs" which overcome the first half of the track, who has all the alluring charms of a sexlessly stagnant Morrissey.

It's clear that Vallesteros is in two minds. They're minds that he can work well with but when mixed together, they're about as delicious as chocolate and egg yolk. It's ultimately a record that can go places but it still hasn't made its mind up properly yet. It's the record that when presented with a labour evaluation sheet, you can't decide whether to fire or keep it.