I was really quite concerned when I read the promo info on the album cover. Firstly, O Soundtrack My Heart is completely instrumental electronica, which gives it potential to be really dull. And then to scare me further I read that the album “channels synthesiser luminaries Vangelis and Jean-Michel Jarre.” Now they were great pioneers of electronic music in the 80s, but Kraftwerk they were not! With great relief I also read “influences from Autechre and the post-punk leanings of Talking Heads.” OK, there was some hope then!

So on a cosy winter night in front of the heater, I threw the album on for a listen. And slowly but surely Pivot seduced me with pure technical sonic skill. The experience doesn’t grab you instantly and slam you up against a wall of catchy vocals. No, this baby entices you in slowly, and ensnares you one brain synapse at a time.

Pivot created and recorded this album online (password cracks anyone?). After an initial studio session in Sydney to tracklay acoustic instruments (drums, guitars, bass), brothers Laurence and Richard Pike stayed on in Sydders while Dave Miller headed to London. Tracks were shuttled back and forth across the world as layers, textures and clever subtleties were added, subtracted and finalised. And the results of that painstaking attention to detail really show. The boys sniffed and tasted and blended and aged the material in oak barrels (not really), until they reached the exact mix of colour and tastiness they were striving for. And just like chilling back with a fine glass of whisky, you need to sip slowly to fully appreciate the complexity. And not unlike whisky, it has enough pure alcoholic power to completely floor you.

The album opens with the textural soundscape October, based mainly on Laurence’s free-form percussive effects. Then a click track gives you a split-second’s warning that In the Blood is about to punch on (for all the blood and gore of the tripped-out filmclip, check out the clip HERE). Sweet Memory has some ninja takedown moves too. And Didn’t I Furious damages like a cyborg serial killer. Then tracks like Epsilon mix pure tweaks and bleeps with teary sweet melodies. My pick is Nothing Hurts Machine. Close your eyes on this one and you’re running through dark streets in your own personal anime flick, kitted up with hardware and getting it on with the babe in the PVC and funny hair.

Yes, this album is all instrumental. But it’s not beautiful in a lush Hybrid soundtrack sense. It’s much more considered and cerebral. I would love to hear what these smart cookies could do with some lyrics, but in a way that would completely wreck the whole sweet picture. It’s triple distilled, smoky and malty all at once. O Soundtrack My Heart is well worth a listen. It will grow on you slowly and subtly, but in the end you will be addicted.