Jane Weaver used to play Indie rock with Kill Laura and folktronica with Misty Dixon. The latter made records featuring cute kittens on the covers and once released a version of Dolly Parton's saccharine Love Is Like A Butterfly.
There are fluttery echoes of her past in the question Did You See Butterflies? posed enigmatically on track 2 of Modern Kosmology.
Following on from where her well received previous album (The Silver Globe) left off the Manchester singer is keen to build on her independent status.
She highlights that her sixth solo work is self-produced, self penned and deploys self taught musical skills. The fearless autonomy only goes so far as she also has a band of musicians to help her.
But what is billed promisingly as "synth-loaded sonic architecture" turns out to be nothing more than loungey shoegaze re-loaded as Krautrock inspired dream pop.
The album lacks the sensuality of Alison Goldfrapp or the hypnotic atmospherics of German neo-kosmiche bands.
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Nor is it energized by the presence of ex-Can vocalist Malcolm Mooney who contributes a mercifully brief spoken word spiel to Ravenspoint intoning weightily "We're on our way to dust .......open your eyes".
Instead, each song locks into a soporific motorik groove with vague new agey lyrics about changing your world and affirming your self esteem e.g. "I'm not your possession" (H>A>K); "Stop listening to other people whose agenda doesn't seem good" (Slow Motion)
"And now I'm changing my world", Weaver sings on the title track but although the kittens are history this album of cosmic cuteness doesn't seem such a great leap forward.
Jane Weaver's website
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