After last year's hugely impressive debut album 'Book Of Hours', Cloud Boat's Sam Ricketts and Tom Clarke have quickly built on their distinctive blend of skittering garage beats, lavish guitar lines and indie-folk sensibilities akin to Local Natives or Grizzly Bear. 'Model Of You' takes the duo's established sound and ramps up the production, with brawnier drums and more prominent electronic loops. The extra oomph plays to their strengths, with Clarke's sweeping vocals holding firm on the propulsive 'The Glow' and stunning synthetic workout 'Hallow'. While there are some welcome Radiohead/James Blake-style sombre moments to break up the frenetic pace - like the emotive 'Told You' - for the most part, 'Model Of You' pushes Cloud Boat out into broader, more turbulent waters.
