Sleepwalkers builds perfectly from its orchestral opening through to a simple understated verse that blows up into a massive and insanely catchy chorus, substantial but still light and effortless enough to make its five and a half minutes feel half as long. While the arrangement’s round, measured synth programming and light touches of guitar are fine on their own, you can’t really understate how much vocalist Logan Turner brings to the table: it takes a lot to make a line like I Know You Have a Boyfriend/And I Fucking Hate Your Boyfriend come across, but Turner has a knack for the emotional that serves the band in good stead. Numbers like the sprightly Indoctrinate Me and the chunky guitar-led Data Ghosts make full use of him and are all the better for it, sincere for all their melodrama.
Noticeably, Cygnets also seem to be making more moves towards referencing New Order in their sound, a mildly puzzling move considering the distinct sound they’ve been carving out for themselves up until this point. Drøm 4″ and Born in Vain aren’t any worse for referencing Manchester’s finest at various points (Drøm 4″ specifically might be the best track on the record with its desperate vocal, sharp keyboard lead and amazing hup-hup breakdown), its more that the band doesn’t seem to have anything to gain from inviting the inevitable comparisons that come from pastiche; Cygnets stand exceptionally well on their own creatively, and despite being well executed the NO references take some of the shine off the band when they pop up.