Music has many applications. From the raging torrent of emotion to be found on the(excellent) new Slayer album, through to the slowed down introspection of Low, music can stir the emotions like no other art form. Le Loup enters the fray as a calming influence, a relaxing and interesting meditation and mood piece that weaves mantra’s into gently upbeat music that sounds quite unlike anything else on the market today.

First track ‘saddle mountains’ sounds not unlike a folk chant, with eerily atmospheric noise drifting behind the strange choice of instrumentation which includes a banjo. ‘Beach town’ ups the tempo with a rhythmic barrage and funky bass underpinning the relaxed vocals which float on top like so much sweet-scented smoke. By the time ‘grow’ drifts out of the speakers the listener is, quite literally, ready for anything and the rhythms exert a calming influence while the guitars and vocals lull you into a carefully woven dreamscape. ‘morning song’ opens with a banjo lament that develops into a carefully harmonised piece with all maner of strange elements helping to maintain interest.

The title track follows and it is quietly engaging, a soothing track that ebbs and flows with strange sound effects and half-heard vocals. ‘Forgive me’ opens with a rush of drums and noise that is most reminiscent of Arcade Fire before they turned lame on their last album and it benefits from an atmospheric mid-section.’Go east’ conjures up images of an American Levellers and gets the toes tapping thanks to its incessant rhythm while ‘golden bell’ sounds almost choral in its structure and reverb-drenched harmonies. ‘Sherpa’ builds out of a repetetive loop by adding layers of noise before unleashing a stupidly catchy vocal part. The oddly titled ‘neahkahnie’ is a bare-boned folk tune with extra computer noise dragging it into this century and closer ‘Celebration’ slowly gains focus out of a wall of noise that could almost be the Swans in their last days.

Clearly this passive assault on the senses is not for everyone. The music is dreamy, avante-garde pop music that encourages gentle introspection and allows the listener to drift quietly away from the worries of the world for an hour or so, recalling bands such as Arcade Fire, Sigur Ros and their ilk. If you like your music to be in touch with folk roots or indulge in ambient at all then this will undoubedly be your bag. A worthy effort from a unique band untouched by commercial concerns.