The cover shot says it all, five serious looking men playing in some dodgy jazz club on a monochrome backdrop. Liam McKahey's vocals are rich and moody and hint at the magnificence of Scott Walker but without any camp touches. The musical arrangements themselves often recall Nick Drake's early work, in particular on 'Mesmer'. The overall feel is stately, graceful and a little unadventurous at times but songs as fine as 'The Last Good Day Of The Year' are brilliantly subtle and when McKahey sounds at his most passionate on 'How Will I Know' he contributes to a superb, swooning love song. Rather like the similarly-styled Tindersticks it's hard to see Cousteau expand on their oeuvre but like that band they will be coveted by their fans for steadfastly ignoring current musical trends and when those trends include manufactured boy bands and anodyne R & B, who can blame them?