Aquilo - Silhouettes

The Guardian 60

(Island)

If the xx have got too happy for you, fear not: synth duo Aquilo arrive with heavy hearts and a seemingly bottomless well of lush, plaintive melodies. Named after the Greek god of cold northern winds, the former teenage rock band rivals draw deeply on the melancholy atmospherics of the Lake District near where they grew up. Three years on from their breakout turn at Glastonbury, however, any craggy edges have been smoothed away by slick production from the likes of Sohn and Ólafur Arnalds. Vocalist Tom Higham deploys his requisite falsetto sparingly, but the surfeit of emotion and tranquillity flattens their musical landscape.