Hard-to-pigeonhole New York pair Rossen & Nicolaus veer their below-the-level indietronica with a chilly snout for turning musical strangers into best of buds. Regular strummers become ridden with enthusiasm or anxiety, (‘Family Romance’, ‘Sailing By Night’), folk is made for cowboys (‘Ghost in Summer Clothes’), SFA/Franz Ferdinand sprinters (‘Romo-Goth’) race away, and analogue-digital wire-ups are shaped into instrumental hip-hop textures, far removed from their acoustic hang-outs and deserving A-list admiration due to their rhythmic caginess. The Department have landed.
4 Out Of 5
Reviewed By: Matt Oliver
