At first I tried listening to Beware Of The Light in the car and then quietly in my office. It wasn’t working for me at all. It wasn’t until I listened to it through my headphones that I thought “wow there’s a lot of sounds on this album” and I really got into it. You need to immerse yourself in it to fully appreciate how much is going on in each track. I think the album would also sound great on the right club’s sound system, pumping the tracks out loud.

The album starts out with a gunshot-like beat on Shot Down. I’m sure I can hear a dripping tap sample in the background of the song, and Jamie Lloyd’s vocals are soft and kind of drawled. It’s fairly down tempo, as is The Wolf’s Song. This song features soft beats and swirling synth sounds that gradually build throughout. I’m sure I can hear at least three vocal tracks and yet read that Jamie performed all the vocals on this album. Keep an ear out for the faint wolf howl as the track fades out.

The title track, Beware Of The Light is all light and upbeat synths that gradually become more urgent and heavier before suddenly changing tone again. When Good Oompa Loompas Turn Bad also changes tone, going from a harsh scratch and an incredibly fat and wobbly synth bass line to something lighter and then back again. I could see this track being well received on the right dance floor. And it’s certainly one of the most compelling track names I’ve come across this year!

Speed Racer is another fast-paced track that literally has a sound like something is racing past your ears, while One Little Sand Storm has a funky bass line and driving techno beat Again, I could see both these tracks working on a dance floor because it’s so easy to get into the groove of the songs.

Fire Flies has fat buzzing sounds and an interesting synth track that gets louder and faster as the song progresses. In places I thought the layering of the synth sounds was reminiscent of The Knife. While the pace of the album slows down a bit with Big Bee Crash, it still has a disco-tinged sound. A Box Thing also has a very funky vibe and what sounds like an old computer game sample at the end of the track.

After my initial scepticism, this album has really won me over. It has a kind of a techno sensibility but one that’s definitely not minimal. There’s so much layering going on in each song and you can really lose yourself in it all if you try to pick out all the different sounds in the mix. At the same time the sounds function together musically as entire tracks and aren’t just a collection of interesting and unusual noises, definitely something Lloyd should be commended for. I think I’ll be listening to this album again and again.