Alex Cortiz: Make Believe

By GRAHAM REID

(Herald rating: * * )

Downbeat lounge music from Dutchman Aad de Mooy, aka Alex Cortiz, who seems to have assimilated most of the now familiar elements (shuffle rhythms, repeato-guitar riffs which nod toward MOR jazz, textural organ grooves) and pulled together an album long on mood but somewhat shortchanged when it comes to being memorable or distinctive.

In the crowded world of chillout lounge music maybe that isn't a problem, and certainly this plays well enough when you are putting on the coffee and wondering what album you'd like to play. But it's unlikely that when the jug has boiled this will be the one you choose. Easy, but unaffecting.

Label: Swirl/Border