Put together the former members of The Field Mice and The Wake and the smart money would be on them making an album of rainy day melancholia and innocent beauty. As it turns out, that's pretty close to the truth. After both groups earned a overdue reappraisal thanks to an exhaustive reissue programme, The Occasional Keepers reference the past but are just as concerned with the modern day world. Combining a foreground of acoustic guitars and shy downbeat vocals with backgrounds of field recordings; this formula is shown to best effect on 'Rose-Scented Fire', 'The Crackle Of Debris' and instrumental finale 'The Last Lighthouse Keeper'; all of which possess a compelling layer of eeriness . There's little of the easy-on-the-ear jangly pop heard on Field Mice records but in its place there's a much greater appreciation of atmosphere and texture.