Pala XL Recordings***

If Friendly Fires' debut album was a Venn diagram of their eclectic influences (dance, soul, punk, pop), their second record is top-heavy with the sort of songs you'd expect to hear on an Ibizan dance floor. Live Those Dreams Tonightand Chimescertainly raise pulses, but the tracks that naturally emphasise groove and rhythm sound the most original.

When Ed Macfarlane's soulful vocals aren't rendered incidental by the occasionally overbearing studio effects, they're woven into the fabric of songs such as the samba-tinged Hawaiian Airand funk-addled Running Awaybeautifully. Elsewhere, Hurtingjust about trips along the right side of 1970s sleaze, whereas Show Me Lightssounds like a redundant Timbaland remix. Pala's a concrete effort, but the trio's attempts to recreate the spark that fortuitously ignited their debut sounds a little too calculated in places. See wearefriendlyfires.com

Download tracks: Running Away, Hurting