3 out of 5

Label: Trace / untrace

Produced by: Zac Nicholls & Steven Marr (recorded by)

Charming twee folk-pop that injects some darkness and bite into the formula.

Much pleasantness abounds on Dreamer Too, which drifts and strums and occasionally bops through 9 tracks of sweet vocals, satisfying crisp strings, and whistling. Starting in more of a singer-songwriter vibe, with opener Tonight a plaintive voice-and-guitar affair, Laney Blue establishes its telltale note of uniqueness: avoidance. While these songs are absolutely chockful of melody, and soon segue into catchy Lumineers-style indie, our singers / players don’t indulge in swelling or over-celebratory moments, letting the harmonies be simple and swerving the notes to minors instead of majors at the expected points, giving the tracks a somewhat humble feel. This also means that when the music does allow for more flourished peaks – particularly in either part of Vera, towards the end of the album, or the almost alt-rock structure of Tox – it has more impact. With some stronger lyrics – most of Dreamer Too is comprised of sing-songy romantic missives – this indirect approach could be really disarming; as-is, it’s gorgeous stuff, and with enough of a wrinkle to make the band, and album, noteworthy.