Coming from California doesn’t instantly make you a cheery, ‘have a nice day’ type of person.

It can just as easily breed a melancholic type, who may not totally hate the sun, but seem to get a bit lost in the haze and heat of the place. Film School seem to be built around that principle, with lovesick lyrics and introspective shoegaze music their extreme forte.

Forged from the American indie rock foundations of Fuck and Pavement, modern comparisons to Interpol and a perverse sound a like to the new Desert Session UNKLE can also be picked up in places through the LP, as the haunting hue of Film School envelops your existence.

After the blistering introduction of Dear Me, the scuzzy, distorted guitars continue into the follow-on, Lectric. It’s a recurring theme through the album, as the odd comparison to Interpol threatens to take over the conscious on Two Kinds and album closer What I Meant To Say.

The dense, driving beat that is featured in the opening blows of the album is something to become used to, as it is a staple ingredient of the Film School style. Sick Hipster Nursed By Suicide Girl carries on the theme as it shows it’s potential live capabilities but fails to come alive fully on record.

Greg Bertens’ band seem to work best when the angst and mind-bending aggression is amped up a notch. The progressively edgy rock of Capitalized and Florida are great examples, as the latter’s squalling guitar that looms in the shadows providing a deeply enriching racket over the 80’s style gothic rhythms.

All of which contrasts greatly with the slower, less streamlined efforts that regularly centre around the idea of love and lost love. Go Down Together’s percussion and acoustic stylings and Compare’s motion of blind faith and belief are perfect fodder for those with gentle hearts, and if the double-barrelled emotional assault isn’t plain enough already, it all comes to the fore on the penultimate track.

Plots and Plans has a shuffling beat that boarders on a stumbling zombie as the disconcerting male/female vocals take you on a brainwashed journey to the final act of the album. The added intervals in MeanMedian Mode, Must Try Harder and Blizzard Scout add little to an album that is good, but ultimately seems to pay for its hazy attitude.