Dave Fridmann would appear to be the producer to hire if you have a band that is struggling to rise from indie cult level. His trademark sound - a kind of warped Disney soundtrack - is draped all over this latest album by Scotland's The Delgados just as it was on their previous album 'The Great Eastern'. Yet Fridmann doesn't just pick any artists, his lucky few are required to have songwriting abilities of their own and on this evidence The Delgados are well blessed in this department. Cleverly alternating vocalists for each track is an inspired move; Emma Pollock's contributions are fragile and folky whereas Alun Woodward recalls the fey, keening style favoured by another of Fridmann's protege's, Jonathan Donahue of Mercury Rev. Swept along by an abundance of strings and choirs the first six tracks are superb; at the moment when Pollock begins singing the last chorus on 'Woke From Dreaming', the anticipation of the orchestra about to start is a defining, spine-tingling moment. There are a couple of misfires towards the end of the album where the simple nursery rhyme melodies are submerged within the oppressive production. Yet the overriding feel is one of witnessing a group graduating from a student fanbase to something much more enduring.