There isn’t that much music that would be suitable for a funeral, but ‘Rec #4’, the opening track here, would fit in perfectly. This incredibly moving two-chord piece speaks eloquently of grief and loneliness, with its controlled melodic feedback and haunting piano.Laymar are certainly serious types, describing themselves as being “like the music you’d hear if you were entering the gates of hell.”

This is a rare example of a band inadvertently selling themselves short; their beautiful post rock is actually so much better than that. All the tracks on this album are instrumental, with voices only occasionally coming in as sampled effects. Despite the lack of vocals, the second Joy Division album is clearly a huge influence on the atmosphere Laymar create, which is one of wintry despair.There are some electronic bleeps and squelches here, which actually create the least engaging parts of the sound. The highlights are the reverberating guitars, which echo their way to ever-higher peaks of sadness across these desolate soundscapes.

Chris Taylor