Clor is one of those albums that really shouldn't work and sometimes really doesn't work, but overall somehow it does. Just. It is the debut album by the band of the same name - comprised of Barry Dobbin and Luke Smith - and is very difficult to classify and also very difficult to digest the first time you hear it, which could work again them. However, when the songs have had their time to sink in, there really something there that's worth the effort.

There's a very home-made feel to Clor, possibly because it was recorded in Smith's flat, or perhaps because it is such a mish-mash of styles that no respected producer would put their name to such a project, let alone a major record company.

One of the first things that jars on this album is Dobbin's voice, which is a little grating at times, but that hardly seems to matter on a song like opener Good Stuff, which more than lives up to its name, bubbling along very nicely indeed.

Recent single Outlines starts off with some random discordant music before finding a funky 80s beat and dancing around it like it was a handbag at a disco. The 1980s was clearly a time that has influenced Clor, as this whole album is angular and colourful, like a musical version of a Rubik's Cube. Outlines' chorus is: "Each of us is special in our own unique way", appropriately.

Ironically, it's after the two singles that the album really gets going with Love + Pain, which is frankly great. It sounds like about four different pop songs of various genres all being played at the same time but somehow finding that connection that supposedly existing when you play Dark Side Of The Moon whilst watching The Wizard Of Oz.

Hearts On Fire starts off like a more cheerful Gary Numan song before being overtaken by a wave of feedback and distortion, while Gifted is a quiet affair with just a guitar being gently picked while Dobbin sings a heartfelt tale of woe. These kind of contradictions are rife on this album, which is why it can take a few listens to fully appreciate.

One of the most important, but difficult, obstacles for anyone in pop music is to create the image of total chaos while still in complete control. Clor do manage this on their self-titled debut album and it is a lot of fun as long as you are ready to take the plunge and are hungry for some 80s nostalgia.