Following on from a forgettable (or at least forgotten in the eyes of the public at the time) debut in 2011’s It Never Goes Out; and a phenomenal and ultimately seminal second record in 2014’s Home, Like Noplace Is There, how will The Hotelier fare when it comes to album number three, 2016’s Goodness?

Well let’s start where we shouldn’t, and judge this record by its striking cover: Whilst it may not be the most visually appropriate piece of photography, it certainly isn’t not aesthetically pleasing in its serenity, and any cries of outrage or requests for censorship are surely a step too far. Coupled with the album's teaser trailer, this naked assembly of elderly strangers found through Craigslist appears to embrace happiness in nature and the notion of natural beauty, and hence this image could be taken as an extension of the record's message of “Goodness”.

Moving onto the music, as is the goal here: the spoken word nature of opening track ‘N 43° 59' 38.927" W 71° 23' 45.27''’ and its counterparts are reminiscent of the similar tracks on La Dispute’s Wildlife – and the overall atmosphere of Rooms of the House by the same band – although they possess less ferocity, where La Dispute are a band with whom The Hotelier share a penchant for gripping and emotive musical storytelling more generally. Vocalist and bassist Christian Holden’s opening recital provides a charming introduction to the album and a precursor to the rhythmic ‘Goodness Pt. 2’ (with ‘Goodness Pt. 1’ being featured on the aforementioned album trailer), which wanders to a euphoric musical peak before returning home with a smile.

[Also, if you are interested, the coordinates used for those song titles refer to the following places in order of album appearance: somewhere in a forest in New Hampshire, somewhere near a house (not that one) in a forest in Vermont, and somewhere near a group of lakes in Massachusetts. Whilst the importance of these locations is not immediately apparent, they likely hold some emotional significance to the band, and are all in New England from where the band originates.]

The likes of ‘Piano Player’ and ‘Settle The Scar’ provide the frantic streak of the record, as Holden and co. provide the raw emotion for which they are well known at notable speed, powerful instrumentation and vocal deliveries are certain to form an emotional connection with the listener. By contrast, ‘Opening Mail For My Grandmother’ and ‘Fear Of Good’ are slow and endearing, showcasing a different yet equally emotional side of The Hotelier. ‘Goodness Pt. 2’ and closer ‘End Of Reel’ combine these two approaches in the classic loud-soft dynamic track, which provides both an epic beginning and end to an incredible piece of musical art.

Having firmly planted their flag at the forefront of the emo revival with Home, There Is Noplace Like There, Goodness is confirmation of the band’s musical creativity and command over emotional composition. The trio are undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with as crowds continue to dance, sing and cry in their droves, and the band continue to create such beautiful compositions.

Goodness is available from Amazon and iTunes.

Machines In Heaven are cool, hip, electronic, and probably that band your “cool” friend talks about so much, that you don’t want to like them just to spite that particular friend. But then, you listen to Machines In Heaven, and after questioning why such seemingly sporadic combinations of sounds work so well together, you accept that this Glaswegian trio are actually something pretty darn special.

Self-described on Facebook as “electronic power-ambient” and “post-bass”, those labels may give the new listener with some markers from which to set their music GPS. That band’s debut album bordersbreakdown does seem to fall into those categories on some level, and as a whole works on an ambient interplay of electronics and “conventional instruments” like some kind of Microsoft post-rock. The new record – Phenomenology – also follows this template, but with a greater percentage dedicated to the electronic side of things.

’Silfra’ is a charming introduction to proceedings as it twists and turns, giving a short five-minute summary of the album overall like some musical prologue or blurb. ‘Quango’ however saunters along at a defined pace, with a repeated guitar line injecting some funk throughout as layers of electronics ebb and flow around it. By contrast, ‘Ruix Con’ is somewhat reflective as electronic loops join aperiodic and minimal vocals to create a mystical and alluring atmosphere. Turning yet another corner, ‘Logarithm’ (sadly not ‘Logarhythms’) sounds like the background music to the Mario Kart level you always wanted to play as oscillates jauntily at an infectious pace.

This diversity in song composition is part of what makes Machines In Heaven an enjoyable outfit, as their records provide a musical smorgasbord of differing flavours that can awaken you to some subtle yet interesting influences you never knew you needed to love. ’G-wave’ for example strays into material not a far distance for the likes of 65daysofstatic (a band they could be compared to more generally), whilst ‘20XX’ signals to the more soulful numbers in CHVRCHES’ back catalogue, and ‘Dr. Whit’ quickly escalates rapidly from gentle strings to an electronic flurry (more 65daysofstatic).

The vocal tracks used on closer ‘Ragman Dolls’ make it a little unsettling, but do not compromise it being as enjoy as Phenomenology as a whole. That word as a word appears to have many interesting meanings and applications, which you can lose yourself reading about for some time on the ever-reliable Wikipedia, if you so desire. As an album it is a complex and hard to define thing, clearly inspired by a range of styles, and contained a plethora of musical ideas. Combined with a pleasing album artwork, Machines In Heaven have produced another exquisite record, and you and all of your friends should love them.

Phenomenology is available from Amazon and iTunes.