Bleep

Houndstooth continue to go from strength to strength, with their latest offering an EP of opaque pop from Norwegian duo Soft As Snow. A whole host of analogue machines combine on title track 'Glass Body' to create rippling synth waves that climb ever higher. It's the delivery of singer Oda Egjar Starheim that sets this apart though, her commanding, almost deadpan, vocals keeping the track grounded. There are traces of The Knife in tracks like 'Halo Heart', though things are kept more hazy and obtuse around the edges. 'Black Birds' carries a shoegaze influence (the band share their name, probably not so coincidentally, with one of My Bloody Valentine's finest tracks), with the duo crafting deep pools of noise.