Return to the Ugly Side Double Six***

Anyone who has previously enjoyed a sip of Bristol’s musical Kool-Aid will dig what Gary Ealey and Scott Hendy have produced on their second album. This melancholic, slow- motion battery of retro fittings and sounds is a curveball compared with the usual West Country fare, but is all the better for its disinclination to go with the crowd. Indeed, the lack of contemporary lineage may be why Portishead’s Geoff Barrow has championed Malachai in the past. While Ealey and Hendy have an obvious soft spot for Morricone-style soundscapes, this doesn’t mean they’re just another cinematic appreciation society making music for imaginary films. Instead, they use soundtrack staples such as sweeping strings and atmospheric washes to enliven, amplify and colour their tingling electronica, 1960s wig-outs and driving psych-pop. See myspace. com/malachaibristol

Download tracks: Mid Antarctica, (My) Ambulance