Magnetic Seasons is a double album. With only nine tracks across its four sides. There are some lengthy workouts herein.

In the main it's quite a soporific record. Yes 'Time Machine' does have good pacing and it rocks along with gay abandon but, for the most part, the band have expanded their more usual frenetic soundscape outwards to more relaxing places.

'Remember The Breathing', the first of the major length tunes at 15 minutes, is therefore aptly titled as you're as likely to nod off during it as anything if not occupying yourself with some task other than just listening to the album. Very nice it is too as it shimmers along in its mid-section.

Getting up to change each of the sides of vinyl over strikes me as being quite a challenge in this case, given the thoroughly relaxing effect of the music you'll have heard just prior to the act being required. Whilst the physical object itself probably looks lovely my money's on you making more use of the inevitable download. Back in the day this is precisely the kind of release that spurred me to switch to CDs (though they've now all been got rid of in favour of mp3s).

Mugstar have managed though to do themselves proud here. I'll be wanting a seat should I manage to see them live this year but in terms of the actual beauty of the work they've created here they can't be faulted. 'Ascension Island', the side-long album finale is a particularly fine closing piece.

Magnetic Seasons is available from amazon.

Album number five from The KVB finds the duo of Nicholas Wood and Kat Day on fine form, having beavered away at Geoff Barrow's studio to record and self-produce Of Desire's dozen tracks.

Obviously familiar though the sounds on the album are all together there's nevertheless a consolidation of their work to date firmly welded to a new understanding of what they want to produce, combined with the definite ability to achieve that.

Therefore you've the moodiness of the instrumental 'Primer' (a track whose brevity would have left lesser performers producing a mere waste of time) cast up beside the urgency of 'Night Games' and its muted yet squalling guitar never quite getting to the climax it seems to promise.

Everyone from The Cure to The Soft Moon is as evident as ever in the songs here, as you'd expect barring a Paisley pattern injection direct into the jugular, but the pair have as much to offer within their chosen genre as the next act and they do so bold and unrepentant.

Track nine, 'V11393', is space rock-like in overall feel, with the expansive textures applied to the underlying hi-hat pattern. There's a repetitive, didgeridoo sound mixed in throughout, as well a lot of high end guitar noodling amidst the galactic wooshing. It could stand to last a bit longer.

In closing out Of Desire the final three songs return to more familiar territory. 'Unknown', 'Mirrors' and 'Second Encounter', with 'Mirrors' being the one on the most epic scale despite being the shortest, all ably demonstrate the group's range and ready knack of involving the listener emotionally when not also inspiring a physical reaction.

The KVB are, on this evidence, here to stay for some time yet so you'd better get used to the idea.      

Of Desire is available from amazon and iTunes.