It’s not everyday that you come across lyrics so well structured, so skilfully crafted, that the sleeve notes read like poetry. And it’s not every day that a band as considered and as genuine as Clearlake comes along. ‘Cedars’, produced by former Cocteau Twins’ Simon Raymonde, is the band’s second album: a melancholy paean to regret, reserve and introspection. And it’s mighty good.

Wonderfully earnest, heartfelt and ultimately very English, ‘Cedars’ is a strange brew of fey, maudlin indie and radio-friendly alt.rock. Clever arrangements, rich vocal harmonies and the accomplished manner in which the band handle their instruments make the somewhat overcast subject matter extremely palatable. This is a band that possesses qualities unexpected from your average indie fare: they are inventive, eccentric and strikingly original.

Album opener and soon to be single, ‘Almost The Same’ establishes the high standard from the get go; a fast paced poppy number - Rialto meets Urusei Yatsura - with Jason Pegg’s vocals falling somewhere in-between Paul Weller and Oliver Twist.

Rockier numbers “Can’t Feel A Thing” and “Come Into The Darkness” are as close to perfect as you’re likely to find on any album this year, in particular the latter of the two. Gothic and grandiose, this track alone makes the purchase of ‘Cedars’ compulsory.

“It’s true what they say/You have to watch the quiet ones” sings a mournful Pegg on the creepy, ‘I’d Like To Hurt You’. As it happens, never a truer word said. Clearlake certainly deserve your full attention.

words: Shaun Macartney