There exist groups who, regardless of how interesting their music might be, are rendered unlistenable by their singer. Pram's Rosie Cuckston deploys the same couldn't-care-less stylings as Stereolab's Laetitia Sadier in a way that goes beyond atonality. Dark Island's more approachable than 2000's Museum Of Imaginary Animals, but despite attempts at poignancy such as "Goodbye", that voice is a barrier, and the sub-Morricone mood pieces ("Peepshow") and '60s French un-pop ("Penny Arcade") would have sounded dated even in 1994.

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