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The Sundays Static and Silence

Don't expect surprise with Static and Silence (Parlophone) - here are The Sundays as you know them. From the debut album Reading, Writing, Arithmatic, they learnt the formula for pure pleasure - a day of rest, the album staying put on the stereo filling the silence of the room without answers or questions but blending perfectly with your mood.

Static and Silence captures melancholic softness with the hard edge of real emotion. Vocals reach the etheral pitch of The Cocteau Twins (a favourite sample for chocolate adverts), and the guitar melodies wrangle like The Cowboy Junkies. The debut single from the album, "Summertime" (currently no15 in charts), is a happy romance which replays all the love affairs you have ever had. Playing with their favourite word "fiction", this album makes a welcome change from product placement lingo or love songs all too clearly about, well, love. Instead, The Sundays quite rightly reach for the moon. Jennifer Rodger