How Does It Feel

While a few tracks sound too similar to each other, How Does It Feel's best moments deliver pop accessibility without sacrificing any of MS MR's identity.

MS MR might lack some of the extrovert star quality of the acts Plapinger usually signs, but 'How Does It Feel' is an emotional ride that shows she has plenty of her own worth sharing.

Possessing one of the most malleable and expressive voices in pop – now with even more reverb – when Plapinger curls her vocals around those lines, it hits surprisingly hard.

Although How Does It Feel is far more subdued and inconsistent than Secondhand Rapture, MS MR still has no peer in its ability to twist retro and modern influences in fresh ways.

In bitesize chunks this is a sumptuous feast - but it's more buffet than banquet.

As a sophomore album, How Does It Feel delivers more of the same as MS MR’s debut, lacking innovation or development.

These come with a solid dose of danceability, making their compositions easy to like—both those of the subtle and blatant variety. Disappointingly, How Does It Feel has a good dose of the latter.

There’s no dark undercurrent or obsession with the morbid anymore (indeed, that was so 2013), but without that creepy edge, MS MR get lost in a crowded arena with much more compelling characters, and HDIF elapses smoothly and forgettably.

Becoming lost between the sweeping synths and slower beat, the pair’s new direction is diluted with the more recognisable trappings of their last few years in service.