London duo Darkstar are well versed in the weird.
James Young and Aiden Whalley have carved out a niche as purveyors of idiosyncratic electropop, but while their early material signalled an act with some creative ideas, their muse has stuttered for their third album.
The biggest problem with Foam Island is inconsistency.
Although enjoyable tracks, such as Go Natural and Pin Secure, quickly find a groove and tempo akin to Jungle and the title track leaves traces of Röyksopp in its wake, momentum is constantly disrupted by random vocal samples that simply don't work.
In theory, there are some nice ideas amid the hotchpotch of strings, beats, grooves, rattles and clanks, but none of them are fully formed.
It makes for a frustratingly erratic, scrappy collection.
