Heart WavesSelf-released **

Sleep Thieves was fashioned from the ashes of several indie bands (singer Sorcha Brennan once practised with shoegaze enthusiasts Butterfly Explosion), and their foray into bleep- crammed synthpop generates mixed results. The Dublin trio’s strong live show makes them a force to be reckoned with, but, as recorded, these songs simply don’t sound as precise as they could be.

Impersonatorand You, Me and Everyoneare especially jumbled, their respective cacophonies diluting whatcould be fine melodies and vocals if only they were structured more sturdily. Sleep Thieves' experiments in offbeat tangents occasionally work (the insistent beats of Magnetic Heart, the snappy kick of City Lights), providing footholds in the midst of an unnecessarily frantic scramble. Heart Wavescontains plenty of promising ideas, but it abounds with few fully realised end products.

See sleepthieves.net

Download tracks: City Lights, Magnetic Heart