These ten tunes are pitched somewhere between 60s pop and 80s no wave; with Elisa Ambrogio coming over like a Spector girl on downers.
The tracks are less chaotic and more song-orientated than her work with prolific noise-duo Magik Markers from Hartford, Connecticut who have been put on temporary hold for this solo outing.
The intensity and hazy undertones show that Ambrogio has learnt a thing or two from her previous associations with Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo.
Her voice has the emotionally detached quality of a bored Slacker and is a perfect fit for the repetitive, drone-like arrangements.
Ambrogio says she was looking for straightforward ways to express complexity and, for the production duties, turned to Papercuts' Jason Quever to realise this ambition.
Lyrics are improvised on Kylie but the best example of the keep it simple philosophy in action is the opening track Superstitious,a love song no less. On this she pours scorn on belief in supernatural causality yet concedes to looking for bad omens and following certain rituals just to be on the safe side ("I cross my fingers, baby").
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The guitar abuse on Far From Home makes this the most overtly post-punk track contrasting with up tempo pop urgency of Stopped Clocks.
Fever Sealed Yes Forever does not live up to its arresting title but turns out to be a brief filler with monotone organ notes and wordless moans.
Although this is an intelligent and well-crafted album, I'd have liked to hear more of the vulnerability hinted at on closing track Arkansas which has a twisted folk feel.
A few chinks in the armour would have allowed some shafts of light and soul to penetrate the cool veneer.
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