You can picture Veldt now: tall and aloof, resplendent in velvet smoking jackets and slicked hair, crooning and swaying in front of fat old BBC microphones. 'Walking In Silence' sweeps by like Scott Walker, propelled by waves of clarinet and watery, programmed beats. It's ghostly, but lacks any real gravitas; it showcases ambition and timidity in equal measures.
Its component parts are all tempting, yet together the result is muted and something close to apologetic, despite Veldt's clear intentions. Able but uncertain vocals quaver thinly before a judgmental string section, while quiet crunches of guitar take occasional bites out of them. Somewhere down the line, it's perfectly capable of being enormous, impressive, showstopping - all the things one suspects it aspires to. Next time around perhaps; this release floats by rather too inconsequentially to turn heads or hearts.
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5Gen Williams's Score