As one might expect from the album title,
Karma
's
Late Night Daydreaming
is a mellow, after-midnight blend of pretty, atmospheric piano-based
instrumentals
and
downtempo
R&B
tunes. Unlike
's earlier albums, which were purely groove-oriented
electronica
, this effort finds the German production duo in a '60s
easy listening
pop
soundtrack
music mood far more akin to
the High Llamas
(
"Home"
"Beach Towel"
in particular have the
Sean O'Hagan
vibe down cold, up to and including the subtle use of vibes) and
Good Humor
-vintage
Saint Etienne
. Recorded with more "real" instruments than keyboards, including strings and horns, the songs are uniformly lovely and richly textured. The only real flaw is that the three singers on the project, particularly
Michelle Amador
, have generic
smooth soul
voices with no real personality, which blunts the impact of the vocal tracks. Put a singer with the range of
Tracey Thorn
or
Sarah Cracknell
on
and this album would truly be something special; as it is, it's merely much better than average. ~ Stewart Mason