The Law of Large Numbers Chemikal Underground ****

Glasgow has one of the most interesting music scenes in the UK, and, in Emma Pollock - one-time member of the now defunct Delgados, and a founder of the fine indie label Chemikal Underground - the city has one of the best and perhaps most underestimated singers around.

The Law of Large Numbers

is Pollock's second album, following 2007's

Watch the Fireworks

, and it marks a noticeable progression for her. Any post-Delgados nerves have been smartly clipped and replaced with a pop aesthetic that makes songs such as

I Could Be a Saint, House on the Hill, Letters to Strangers, The Loop

and

Chemistry Will Find Me

as accessible as Cheryl Cole or JLS, but clearly far more driven by an urge that pitches cerebral depth against commercial considerations. See emmapollock.com

TONY CLAYTON-LEA

Download tracks:Letters to Strangers, Chemistry Will Find Me