Record Rack

** 1/2 Stars, “Nightsongs,” Le Grand Magistery. Balancing spare instrumentation, unobtrusive effects and velvety vocals, the debut album (in stores today) by boyhood friends Torquil Campbell and Chris Seligman (and guests) fashions a synthetic soundscape where subtlety reigns. In such a world, wryness sometimes gets lost in the drone, but the duo’s spaced-out melodies and 3 1/2-minute missives refuse to fade into the background. The catchy “My Radio” is but two espressos away from being dancey, and Stars wink at their influences with a version of the Smiths’ “This Charming Man” that even the performers acknowledge Morrissey would “despise unequivocally.”

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Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent). The albums are already released unless otherwise noted.