Nord Express

To their credit, Nord Express can write songs that are highly repetitive and moderately paced, but somehow never boring. On the contrary, the minimalist songs that make up their full-length debut are hypnotic, every bit as spare as they are lustrous. The record opens with the solemn, six-minute "Promise" and floats along in a dreamy haze until the end. When things get a bit more upbeat, as on "I'll Wait For You In Kansas City" or "M. Row," it's a welcome change of pace, but, even at its most robust, Central is an unembellished achievement in restraint.