After an album that saw the Glasgow combo Nightshift diving deep into noisy, off-kilter post-punk, they return with something more tightly wound and sparse that separates them from other bands plying a similar trade. Due to restrictions on recording in studios, the group worked remotely on Zöe, laying down loops and adding parts piece by piece in their respective homes. Whatever might have been lost by subtracting the energy of people playing together in the same room is offset by the home-cooked care put into the construction of the songs. Each track feels like it was painstakingly assembled out of scraps of sound, sewn together seamlessly and in fascinating ways. Influences of late-period Pastels and prime-era Pram come through in the way they sneak up on melodies sideways, never hitting them dead-on but gently pressing until the hooks sink in deeply. Slowly unspooling songs like "Infinity Winner," which shimmers like raindrops on a window, or the dreamily woozy "Fences'' show off this graceful side of the band; other tracks like the rambling "Spray Paint the Bridge" or "Romantic Mud" carry over some of the angular punch from their earlier work to great effect. Best of all are the songs when Nightshift dare to get a little epic (as on "Power Cut," where they expand and widen their sound to deliver an art rock delight that holds interest over each second of the seven-minute playing time) or juxtapose sounds and styles in quietly avant-garde ways. The beautifully constructed and performed "Outta Space," with music that rumbles like Can playing on a kids' TV show and vocals that go a step beyond tender, is a fine example of the group doing this. Zöe is full of these kind of magical moments, heartfelt and imaginative and the work of a band making the absolute most out of their skills and the circumstances. It's the kind of album that engages the head and the heart, giving the former plenty to think about and admire while giving the latter a warm glow that lasts long after the music fades. This may only be Nightshift's second album, but it feels like the work of a well-seasoned group who have perfected their approach and sound.