WHAT WE KNOW of the relationships within a group so often colours how we experience their music. The Libertines’ ‘Can’t Stand Me Now’ draws much of its sadness and sting from Carl Barât and Pete Doherty’s broken friendship. The slow-motion storms of Slowdive’s late shoegaze masterpiece Souvlaki were built out of Neil Halstead and Rachel Goswell’s break up. And as for the raging bonfire of broken hearts which lit up Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours, well, there might be one or two documentaries out there about that.

In the case of Shapes Like People’s shimmering debut album, Ticking Haze, the fact that newcomer vocalist Kat Mann is singing songs written by her husband, Carl, provides an extra dimension to an already richly layered record. Carl Mann, who also produced, mixed and mastered the album, has a rare gift for a harmony-sweetened pop hook; ‘The Ship is Soon to Sail’ is as catchy a tune as you will hear this year. With a storied career in music behind him, including writing with Kylie Minogue and playing stand-in guitar for Sleeper, Carl’s song craft is everywhere to see. The crystalline jangle pop guitar mines rich seams of bittersweetness on ‘Never Cut Asunder’ and ‘Ambition is your Friend’, and ‘Server of the Mind’ and ‘Fireworks’ float in hazy dream pop gauze. With its effortless emotional reach, Kat Mann’s voice (think shades of Harriet Wheeler and Rachel Goswell) serves the songs with ethereal warmth.

If one or two lyrics occasionally stray into cliche, then it only ultimately contributes to the sense of plain-spoken honesty: this is us, the album says, this is a document of our journey through the middle of our lives. It is a gorgeous and moving voyage and one well worth taking.