Pianos have never really been particularly cool - perhaps because it's very difficult to look cool while playing one, or perhaps they just bring Toploader to mind - but when the instrument forms the backbone of a sound as beautiful as that made by Windmill, it suddenly feels like the most important instrument in the world.

Reminiscent of Mew's glacial beauty, Puddle City Racing Lights comprises twelve utterly stunning tracks, ranging from impossibly fragile (opener 'Tokyo Moon') to upbeat, driving and almost rocky ('Fluorescent Lights'). The instrumentation is largely sparse, based around the aforementioned piano and Matthew Dillon's impressive voice, which boasts and impressive range and the sense of a steely determination which is always a heartbeat away from utter breakdown, although there are beautiful strings, layers of voices and wonderful drumming that sounds as if the kit was played in space that appear seemingly out of nowhere to propel songs like 'Plastic Pre-Flights' to an almighty climax. It is almost impossible to find fault here, not with songs as gorgeous and heartbreaking as 'The Planning Stopped' and 'Newsflash', the melodies as so precisely designed to cause goosebumps that it's impossible not to lose yourself in the sound. Stunning, fragile and amazingly powerful, this is not an album you can afford to be without.

Rating: 5/5 by Heather Crumley

Tracklisting

1. Tokyo Moon
2. Boarding Lounges
3. Fluorescent Lights
4. Newsflash
5. Plastic Pre-Flight Seats
6. The Planning Stopped
7. Asthmatic
8. Fashion House
9. Plasticine Plugs
10. Tilting Trains
11. Fit
12. Replace Me

Further links

Melodic.co.uk

Home of the independent label

Windmill on Myspace (myspace.com/windmillband)

Info on the musical project of UK-based singer/songwriter Matthew Dillon.