*** Adventures in Stereo

ALTERNATIVE STEREO SOUNDS

(Bobsled)

This disc, the US debut by Scotland's Adventures in Stereo, is essentially 19 brief mood pieces -- it seems unfair to call them songs -- that form one elegant tribute to breezy summer atmospherics and sweetly dappled melody. The Beach Boys, Stereolab, the Sundays, and Martha and the Vandellas are all in there somewhere, their influences combining to create a sound that's indisputably old-fashioned yet somehow stands outside time.

Although Glaswegian songwriter Jim Beattie, formerly of Primal Scream, is Adventures in Stereo's prime architect, Judith Boyle's vocals are the centerpiece. Invariably multi-tracked for maximum ghostliness and harmonic complexity, her singing brings to mind the Cranberries' Dolores O'Riordan minus the exaggerated Irish accent. The duo are at their best when they avoid the overt Brian Wilson references (as on the aptly titled "Dream Surf Baby") and go instead for a purer, drone-based minimalism on gorgeous tunes like "Said You Said" or "Hang Out." The only real flaw here is that everything's too short (most tracks are under two minutes). It would have been great to soak in these most agreeable waters just a little longer.

-- Mac Randall