Kama Aina - Club Kama Aina
[Rumraket]

Club Kama Aina is the most welcoming place you can escape to on cold evenings, with warming acoustics and homely percussion, its all about the beauty of simplicity. Already taking the status of an old favourite, I've only had it in my possession a week, but can't help but be cheered by the arrangements and the lack of pretension displayed by a group of musicians who, separately, have received such critical acclaim.

'Wedding Song' and 'Hotaru' evoke rosy cheeks and children playing, it's cosy and comforting, bringing Christmas in already. This is perhaps because I listened to it whilst enjoying the newly-lit Sheffield Christmas lights and glittery Christmas window displays, but whether it did or not, these two tracks certainly settle softly, like the first proper snow of winter, clean and simple and easy on the ears.

Much of Club Kama Aina is about setting a scene. 'Millport' brings the ships in, with strings sliding out and the wash splashing against the shore. The Pastel's girl-boy vocals wave goodbye to the holiday season, and with Isobel Campbell on cello and Bill Wells on sparse piano chords a bustling street scene slides into view, complete with the sounds of motorcycles and vintage cars. Then the rain arrives, signalling the return of normal life.

Kama Aina employ the principle that less is more, with every element being stripped down to a bare almost amateur minimum, but to maximum effect. The whole album exudes a lovely child-like nostalgia and quiet indulgence from beginning to end, taking you to favourite places you've never been before.