Sivu - Sweet Sweet Silent

The Guardian 60

(Square Leg)

The second album from Cornish singer-songwriter James Page is an eerie, subtle thing, insinuating itself by the softest of hooks. Though recorded, like 2014 debut Something on High, with Alt-J producer Charlie Andrew, it moves further away from indie convention, inspired by heroes such as Björk, Beck and Radiohead. Page’s voice is gently unnerving, tiptoeing through a circling choral motif and metallic clankings on Submersible, reflecting on his diagnosis with the inner ear disorder Ménière’s disease through Deerhunter-like woozy weirdness on the title track. The punchy chorus of Flies offers a shift in dynamic, as does the dramatic dreampop of Drastic Change. Though Sivu’s own developments are not drastic, they’re certainly beguiling.