(For last week)

I have been keeping an eye on Australia’s Abbe May for a little while now, as her talent for blending mesmerising pop landscapes with blistering guitar reminiscent of the Palm Desert Scene is a combination that I like the sound of a lot. But her second album is less guitar heavy yet amped up on the cavernous sounding atmosphere. Karmageddon is perhaps what her self-described ‘doom-pop’ label refers to best with a foreboding haze surrounding the catchiest chorus I’ve heard all year, minimal synth murmurs underneath each verse and pounding drums that eerily border the line between real and mechanical. Of course the real highlight is her vocals which have been said to be stuck somewhere between PJ Harvey and Nick Cave, in a come back and haunt you in your dreams fashion. The flitting between a controlling indoor voice and a soothing siren certainly sticks the middle ground well. Addictive as it is scary, long I hope that Abbe May continues to make the fascinating music that she does.