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Jan 13, 2016 Web Exclusive By Dan Lucas

“Skinny, white, 20-something, male Londoner who studied at Camberwell College of Arts does pitch-perfect soulful R&B-pop crossover.” Few sentences could be more of a turn-off, more eye-roll inducing, and yet…well, you see where I’m going with this. The rating out of 10 should give you a clue as to the level of aplomb with which Michael Lovett pulls this off on his second album.

Described on their own website as “electronic rock,” Infinite Summer does see NZCA Lines move towards a slightly more ambitious rock sound; the guitar solo (of sorts) on “How Long Does It Take,” for example, is one indicator as to why guitarist Charlotte Hatherley (yes, from Ash and Bat For Lashes) and Hot Chip drummer Sarah Jones have been added to the live line-up.

Jones is an apt addition to the band, considering that the album combines Hot Chip’s pop sensibilities and predilection for Yamaha CS-80 synths with TV on the Radio’s soul/funk sound. Yes, it’s an achingly, painfully hipster cliché, but far more often than not Lovett lands on all the right beats and makes it work. The album’s highlight, “Persephone Dreams,” for example, is a dark, moody, sultry track underpinned by a throbbing bass and funky guitar line straight out of Prince’s playbook.

If the album has a weakness it’s that, for all its pop pretentions, it doesn’t really have too many hooks. Its strength is not in delivering an immediate shot of aural adrenaline but rather in creating a dark, dramatic mood. (www.nzca-lines.com)

Author rating: 8/10