Heart Swell

After a five-year break between albums that involved lineup changes and half the band moving from Ireland to Toronto and back again, the Irish quartet Dott returned with a second album that mostly follows the girl group/noise pop template they laid out on their charming debut album, Swoon. Like Swoon, the band's focus on Heart Swell is on the powerful, heartbreakingly clear vocals of Anna McCarthy. She could sing just about anything and make it sound like an urgent message from the angels, and when the songs are a match -- like they often were on the debut -- the music lifts off and takes flight. There are plenty of moments on Heart Swell that do exactly that. There are songs that have bright-as-a-new-light-bulb melodies ("Not Sorry"), gently swaying ballads that are as warm as a lingering cuddle ("18"), sweet summer pop songs with handclaps and swooning vocal harmonies ("Swim"), and at least one song that comes across like a lost chart-topping single from 1993 (the mighty "Bleached Blonde"). These moments would have all fit nicely on Swoon, and help make Heart Swell another nice bit of fizzing guitar pop with just the right balance of snappy melody and biting guitar, with a brilliant voice driving the melodies home like a trusted cabbie. ~ Tim Sendra