The latest CD releases reviewed

KOOP
Islands !K7 ****

Many have swooned over Koop since their Waltz for Koop debut added a dash of horizontal jazz and sultry soul to the dancefloor back in 2001. That album even went on to become a favourite of urban smoothies and their mates, something that could well have been more of a hindrance than a help to the Koop duo. For their return, Oscar Simonsson and Magnus Zingmark have sensibly left the sound palette from their debut to one side in favour of fresh musical momentum. While Islands takes its sonic cues from a Latin sense of adventure and infectious Caribbean musical stirrings, it's just as praise-worthy for the voices Koop employ. Be it Yukimi Nagano cooing her way through the infectious swing of Come to Me or the sensual sweep that Ane Brun brings to Koop Island Blues, Koop's latest jazz-not-jazz plot is built around strong, enchanting vocal moods. www.dieselmusic.se/koop Jim Carroll

COLLEEN
Colleen et les Boites à Musique Leaf ***

What initially began as a commission from radio station France Culture's Atelier de Création Radiophonique turned into a whole new mini-band for Parisian electronic harvester Cecile Schott. Her previous albums (Everyone Alive Wants Answers and The Golden Morning Breaks) received plaudits galore for their evocative melodies and cloud-bursting electronic pulses. These elements also come to the fore on Schott's micro-orchestrations based entirely around the antique music boxes she discovered for this project. Her live performances have long made hay from the use of an intriguing instrument list, but she relies solely here on the simple, bare-boned sounds created through manipulating the various components and mechanics of the music-boxes. As fragile creaks and fluttering airs are recast into alluring shapes and shades, Schott shows that intriguing sounds can be found in the most unexpected of places. www.myspace.com/colleenmusique  Jim Carroll