When Carlow natives Chris and Laura Coffey aren't making music under their Holy Roman Army alias, they're a doctor and a psychologist respectively - fitting, considering that their music befits both the body and the mind.
The brother and sister's debut album is a concoction of sleepy compositions, beats that take in both hip-hop and trip-hop, and elegiac vocals shared equally - but don't be misguided if that description sounds a little muted. The pair may steep their sound in atmosphere, but it's coated with deft touches that illuminate the ordinary.
'How the Light Gets In' is an album that slowly ambles from your headphones, evoking imagery of a bonfire in the corner of an abandoned warehouse ('Elegy'), or a midnight stroll down a terraced street in the rain ('Dublin in the Deadlight'). Both Coffeys favour the understated, barely-there approach to singing, but their subdued technique works in their favour on the sweeping beauty of tracks like 'Caught in the Wire' and 'The Only Star'. Their understated arrangements are flooded with glitchy electronica, playful skitters and soft melodies that open up as the songs progress, but they're never overloaded with cleverness for cleverness's sake. In that respect, producer Stephen Shannon has done a fine job of fitting together the pieces of this sonic jigsaw with elegance and balance. A well-rounded and often beautiful album, tailor-made for late night aural immersion.
