(Epic) ****

THERE'S something about the way Matt Hales crafts a song - the slow starts, the major chord build ups, the wounded vocal style a la Thom Yorke, the hopeful pay-off - that's almost impossible to resist.

It's a bit like one of those movies that no matter how hard you try not to fall for, it's so well made you have to go with it.

Memory Man comes fully loaded with tunes you'd pick ahead of anything by Coldplay, Athlete, Snow Patrol or any of those doddering dolts.

Vapour Trail adds a new-fangled guitar rush to the mix, while Rolls So Deep hints at a four on the floor beat and Garden of Love is heightened by the vocals of Blue Nile's Paul Buchanan.

It's all held together by a luxuriant production which propels the songs rather than swamps them.