Riding a wave of lush art pop that conjures memories of mid-80's post-wave smart rock from the likes of Talk Talk (or the more recent debut from Cloud Merchant labelmates Quiet City), Release is a thoughtful entry from, presumably, a thoughtful band. The lead singer for Cloud Merchants, Michael Van Elk, croons with both conviction and subtlety, a veritable actor with broadly human, emotional range; when he sneers "I'm a big man" you dislike him, when he laments "I don't have any friends left," you feel genuine heartache. It is that spacious, emotional quality that gives Release an edge over a lot of one-note bands riding the circuit today.
