Little Boots (Victoria Hesketh to some) broke her musical hiatus in February with the menacing, slow-building Motorway from this sophomore album. As the opening number, Motorway sets a dark and sultry tone for the rest of the record, which features a smattering of disco courtesy of Hercules and Love Affair's Andy Butler and Simian Mobile Disco's James Ford (who produced and co-wrote many of the songs). It's been four years since Hesketh's debut album, Hands , and Nocturnes veers between straight-up electro- pop – not unlike some of Kylie Minogue's music – and a bland, tedious state. Minogue Hesketh ain't, but she shines on the up-beat Crescendo , the lala- infused Broken Record and the raw'n'durrrty Shake . Sadly, these moments of pop bliss are too few and far between to cause a stir.
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Download: Motorway, Broken Record, Crescendo