Judging by new album OBSIDIAN, Northern Irish indietronica outfit Millimetre appear to be stuck down some downbeat musical cul-de-sac somewhere slap bang between the indie rock worthiness of Coldplay and the more dance oriented likes of Underworld or Squarepusher. This is a record that revels in dour downtempo electronica, it's also a record that whenever possible attempts to prove its songwriting prowess; an almost embarrassed attempt to deem itself a cut above being a mere dance album.

Opener YEW is a decent enough slice of atmospheric electronica, all moody sound effects and slick beats that sets things up in fine style, a trick repeated by the equally solid LAY DOWN. It's with the twelve minute plus title track OBSIDIAN that things begin to go a little awry though, Millimetre churning out the aural equivalent of a particularly dull coma; a song where very little happens, and what does happen takes a very long time to get there.

OLD TONGUE OUT is another case of the extremely dull and dreary, Millimetre snoozing their way through proceedings with very little in the way of intrigue or life.

Millimetre fall into a musical genre somewhere between downbeat electronica and dour indie rock, and with their second album OBSIDIAN they seem to be comfortable sleepwalking their way through this safe haven. While maybe working as some kind of post-rave comedown album for the early hours, OBSIDIAN struggles to find its feet as a compelling or interesting proposition in the cold light of day. An ultimately disappointing sounding record, that despite the odd moment of inspiration leaves you feeling oddly empty and unsatisfied.

Millimetre was started by Terry McGaughey in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland on his 18th birthday. In 1994 he moved to the big smoke of Belfast, got mixed up in the queerzine/DIY scene, DJ'd at David Holmes ill-fated Mogwai cafe-bar, co-wrote a bunch of zines including his own 'Ugly Earth' and played shows with David Grubbs and even Siouxsie. Millimetre's debut album 'Love won out' , which was recorded during the spring of 2004 and mastered by Chris Carter (of Chris & Cosey and Throbbing Gristle) was released in September 2005 by Orectic Records and is now available on iTunes, Rhapsody, eMusic, Napster and a bunch of other LEGAL download sites. The second full-length Millimetre album, 'Obisidian', is to be released on Orectic Records in November 2007.

Millimetre>http://www.orectic.com/