Recorded by Machine Translations’ J. Walker, A Street Between Us is streets ahead of Heligoland’s debut album, Shift These Thoughts. Three years separates the releases in time, but the use of mood and light and shade is more controlled this time around.

A lot of this may have to do with Walker’s involvement. He’s famed for getting bands to sound exactly how they want to be, and there is the sense within A Street Between Us that everything has been tightened and coiled just so, resulting in a more consistent effort from the band.

It’s noticeable in the song lengths, which for the most part have shrunk to around three-and-a-half minutes, and on the likes of “How to Travel Underwater” there’s a lulling sense of possibility to the song until it does open up and reveal Karen Vogt’s powerful vocals.

Where Shift These Thoughts didn’t have any ‘songs’ per se, A Street Between Us works so well because the eleven moments here are not just beautiful-sounding but also emotionally engaging and always try to engage the listener. It’s still circling around the slowcore sound, but Heligoland know exactly what they’re doing, and how to do it well.