Liu Bei - Goodness ep

This London quintet delved back into ancient Chinese history for the inspiration for their cumbersome moniker (say “Lou Bay”), named after a third century warlord during the Eastern Han dynasty. Their second release is a three-tracker with soft vocals and catchy melodies. The title track is full of yearning emotion and ethereal vocals that rise heavenward with the swelling backing music, all adding up to a heartwarming, stick-in-the-head winner.

‘Fields’ is even more sedate, with Richard Walters’ imploring, vocals soaring across an ocean of Cocteau Twinsy atmospherics. The glitchy closer, ‘Knotweed’, is a little more experimental and less successful at that. (And if they're punningly claiming they're "not twee", it isn't working!) Not sure if they’re going for the dance crowd with this one, but it doesn’t command the gutwrenching thousand-yard-stare as the others. Still, the EP overall is certainly worth investigating and hopefully a full-length will follow soon.