The first two song titles get the record off to rather a morbid start - one might legitimately worry what he or she is getting into when the first two tracks both mention death ("Dead Wrong," and "Fashion Death Trends,") But don't be fooled into thinking this disc is particularly heavy - despite Radacher's fascination with Echo and the Bunymen and the Cure. While the 80's synth influence in certainly tangible in the production here, this is hardly a goth record.

In fact, Couture Couture Couture it has moments of real indie pop perfection. If the title is any indication, the disc is really about fashion - or, more to the point, Rademacher's fascination with the "blur between drugs, music and fashion in the city."

Only one complaint about this album: it could be shorter. With half of the tracks clocking in at over 5 minutes, and another three of the tracks nearly that long, some of the tracks seem a bit self-indulgent. A five minute run time, of course, is not the kiss of death for a song strong enough to sustain it, but some of the tracks - particularly near the middle of the album - feel like they are beginning to buckle under their own weight. In particular, despite a lovely chorus, Broken Arrows feels a bit bloated. Then there's the annoyingly hammy point where Rademacher claims "I was a seagull on an endless flight..." on the similarly overlong "The Man Who Dreaded Sundown," but this is nearly compensated for by the drifting loveliness of the melody, and the evocative refrain about "silence running through my veins."

In fact, the chief problem with this disc is that it is so exceptionally good right off the bat - the first four tracks are among the best indie rock released so far in 2004 - that the rest of the album seems a little disappointing in comparison. The rest is by no means bad - it's just not up to the expectations the first half of the disc raises.

• Official Frausdots page
at Sub Pop
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• More from Matthew Poe at midnight howl