All Through the Night Deltasonic***

The buzz about this Liverpool five-piece is that they will be Noel Gallager’s new backing band. Whether this comes to pass (and if it does, well, ho hum) is irrelevant, for this achingly lovely debut album is heads above the average fare of their mooted frontman. Utilising the kind of hushed but not too reverential tones that Richard Hawley has made his own (the Sheffield singer- songwriter is a primary influence, as is Neil Young and Spiritualized), The Sand Band present their naturalistic, no-pressure music via 10 songs (some of them subtle, almost spectral instrumentals) that quaintly mix texture with character. The album was recorded on a cassette eight- track in a Liverpool flat, a process wholly indicative of the band’s “ideas are more important than technology” ethos. There’s a lesson in there somewhere, yes? See delta sonic.co.uk

Download tracks: Burn This House, Song That Sorrow Sings