The debut effort from ex-Cocteau Twins stalwart Robin Guthrie sounds exactly as you would expect it to be: like his former band without Liz Frazer. Whilst this may be seen as a pointless affair it is worth remembering that the arrangements of Guthrie and Simon Raymonde were just as integral to the group's sound as Frazer's multi-octave range; listen to their EPs 'Echoes In A Shallow Bay' and 'Tiny Dynamine' for evidence of how they could cope quite capably without a singer. To a certain extent Guthrie's thunder has been stolen by artists such as Yellow6 who regards the Cocteau Twins as a key influence on his work. But what of the master? Well, at its best, 'Thunderbird Road', 'Tera' and 'Elemental' are floataway and dreamy in the best tradition of 4AD records circa 1986. Interestingly 'Freefall' recalls Midnight Cowboy and the Bond theme 'You Only Live Twice' with the usual Guthrie trademarks thrown in for good measure. On the other side of the coin, too many tracks veer towards nothingness far too swiftly making this a respectable but somewhat disappointing affair.