Majical CloudzOver the course of three albums Montreal's Majical Cloudz have distilled their efforts into Spartan, tactile, R&B-hued confessionals that quietly set fire to pretense and artifice. 2013's Impersonator was a bracing exercise in confrontation and catharsis cleverly disguised as synth pop. They return once more with a gorgeously realised piece of romantic asceticism that uses a much more organic approach with its textures and ideas.
Devon Welsh is lucid and steady, and it's sometimes painful to hear him patiently step through the violence and heartbreak carefully organised around him. The underlying emotion, however, is love, strong and pure, and to meet Are You Alone? on these terms is a moving experience.
