Grasscut

1 Inch/½ MileNinja Tune ****

Brighton duo Marcus O’Dair and Andrew Phillips are a couple of very bright sparks. The former is an under-the-radar multi-instrumentalist; the latter is – perhaps too tellingly here – a composer for TV programmes. Phillips creates music that is designed not to intrude; it’s complementary, an aid, an aural pleasantry. Which is exactly what the duo’s debut album is: think elements of the singular, rustic Britishness of Lemon Jelly and the snaggy, skippy bits that DJ Shadow is so good at, and you’ll have some idea of the kind of often whimsical electronica on offer here. Samples are utilised perfectly, from John McCormack (The Tin Man) and Phillips’s mother (1946) to Hilaire Belloc and Ezra Pound (In Her Pride), creating a sepia-tinted atmosphere that is spooky, profound and gorgeous. See myspace.com/grasscut music

Download tracks:Old Machines, The Door in the Wall