Wet Leg - "moisturizer" (2025)

Wet Leg felt like a a breath of fresh air in late 2021 when they broke onto the scene with the silly and irreverent Chaise Long. UK indie rock was very much in one of its worshipping the post-punk classics phases and as great as some of those bands are, the scene as a whole was seriously lacking a sense of fun. Chaise Long and by extension the band's debut record had it in droves, which is why I was really quite surprised by the lead single for their follow-up. Titled catch these fists, it is everything that the first album stood out from: bog standard angular post-punk guitar lines, a repetitive chorus and standoff-ish, riot girl-lite lyrics about annoying men in nightclubs. It felt very run of the mill and unoriginal, and doesn't play into the bands appeal in the slightest. The second single, CPR, is an improvement on catch these fists. The lyrics about crushing on someone so hard that you need CPR is much more fun than 'men suck' and Rhian Teasdale puts on some fun vocal inflections throughout the track. However it still sticks with the more aggressive post-punk instrumentation which I just don't think fits the band's writing style and overall vibe.

Luckily, when diving into the album as a whole, some of the deeper cuts do retain the sense of silliness and whimsy that made the debut so great. The third single, davina mccall, is a dreamy lovesong with some goofy pop-culture references (the title and opening line is a reference to Davina McCall's catchphrase on Big Brother from 20 years ago now). jennifer's body is obviously a reference to the film and has a driving rhythm section that propulses the song forward. pokemon, similarly, is a slinky and groovy synth driven cut that has some really cute lovestruck lyrics about escape and running away with your love. The best of the bunch is by far mangetout, and is the only track that captures the pure catchiness and simplicity of the debut. The snarky hook of "get lost forever" and jokes about magic beans feels like a much more 'Wet Leg' approach to annoying advances from men than the kind of sour and bitter vibe of catch these fists.

There are also two songs on the back end that I find quite interesting, don't speak and the closer, u and me at home. They go for that woozey, shoegaze-y guitar tone that's reminiscent of my bloody valentine. Combining that with poppy hooks and vocals that are actually intelligible, it feels like an alternate universe where mbv were actually interested in making indie pop songs. I wouldn't say they're the best of the bunch on the record as they are definitely carried by their vibe rather than the tunes at the core of them - but they're certainly an interesting diversion.

Unfortunately the record really struggles with consistency. pillow talk is another heavy track for the band, and while it is more interesting than the singles; at less than 3 minutes it feels like a non-committal half step into hard rock that ends before it can progress into anything more than just heavy riffs and aggressive vocals. pond song and 11:21 are unremarkable, meandering, slower paced tracks that go nowhere and don't have memorable hooks.

I feel like moisturizer fits the cliche of 'difficult second album' pretty well. You can tell the band are trying to shake off the accusations of industry plants and being a gimmick band by deliberately avoiding making the same album again and trying on new sonic (and visual) pallets. However, I can't help but feel like a lot of the personality that made them unique has been lost in the transition. There's some good songs on here but it doesn't come together to form much of a whole.

Top Tracks: davina mccall, jenifer's body, mangetout, pokemon

6/10

Lucy Dacus - "Forever Is A Feeling" (2025)

Lucy Dacus is the first to return with fresh solo music following Boygenius' debut in 2023 significantly rocketed the singer / songwriter trio's exposure (comprised of Dacus, alongside Phoebe Bridgers and Julien Baker). I was already a fan of Bridgers, but following the Boygenius record I delved deeper into Dacus and Baker's solo work and I really took a liking to Lucy's raw and earnest lyrical style and very straightforward, vintage combination of singer / songwriter, indie rock and folk. While really emotionally resonant in places, her music is not flashy or particularly in your face, leaving it sounding quite versatile and timeless for me.

With Forever Is A Feeling, Lucy doubles down on this very lowkey, stripped back approach; swapping out the slightly more harder edged, fuzzy blues rock elements of her sound for gentle acoustic guitars and delicate chamber pop instrumentation. This is all to service the records narrative, which is very obviously about Dacus' blossoming romance with Baker following the closing out of the Boygenius era. The lyrics are sweet and saccharine, filled with the tepid excitement and hope alongside the worries and risk of falling for a friend. Following a short string prelude, the opening cut Big Deal tells the story of the growing feelings between the two, and that how Lucy was not prepared to take that risk and was surprised that Julien was. Set against gentle strumming and swooning strings, the song is beautifully bittersweet and really acts as the tone setter for the record.

The following track and lead single, Ankles, dives headfirst into euphoric jangle pop as Lucy indulges in fantasising about the exciting possibilities and potential futures this new relationship presents. The other teaser track, Best Guess, is similarly sweet and summery although takes a more grounded and pragmatic approach to the new relationship. Dacus frames the idea of romance as a best guess and that you never know if it will work out in the long run. It is an interesting idea for a song that is still incredibly positive and forward looking. Limerence was released as the B-side to Ankles and has a very different vibe. It's a slow and sparse, piano driven break up ballad. I'm not sure how it fits into the records narrative; whether this break up occurred immediately before Lucy's new relationship to Julien or sometime before. But lyrically, it is so dry and funny as Lucy describes falling out of limerence with this person while watching her friends chat and play video games. It's so nonchalant while also being quite heart aching, really. Lucy doesn't want to hurt this person, but she just doesn't love them anymore.

While it starts and ends quite well, the record's breezy and listless atmosphere unfortunately floats off into the clouds during the middle section. The subtle vocal approach and twee instrumentation sands off pretty much any tension or drive behind the tracks. Talk is on paper the heaviest track on the record, and while it does feature a couple of great lines, it is one of the most tepid interpretations of 90s alt rock I have heard in a long time. And its not like Lucy is out of her ball park here, there are plenty of tracks from her past couple of albums that go for this style and have way more bite to them. For Keeps through to Come Out just breeze by leaving little impact, and its only when Best Guess kicks off the final third of the album that I come back round to being engaged.

Bullseye is a jangly folky ballad with Hozier that I think works out. Hozier tends to dominate his duets, and with how tame the instrumentation is here that could've been the case on this one also; but he remains restrained and overall I think the song works out quite well. Most Wanted Man, similarly is a duet with Baker. The track initially presents itself as a twangy vintage rocker reminiscent of Revolver era Beatles, but as it progresses it morphs into more of a slacker rock jam with it's loose lo-fi guitar riffs and hazy vocals. You can really feel the energy and chemistry between the two on the song. Lost Time is an earnest and heartfelt slowburn to close out the album. The song starts as a gentle acoustic ballad, but slowly builds into a thick and heavy climax that once again brings back Julien for backing vocals.

Much like Lucy's previous records, Forever Is A Feeling doesn't rewrite the indie playbook - but is a solid, well written album that is a good time from start to finish. It does feel a little lightweight in places, so I don't think it tops Historian as her best. I still like it quite a bit and I think its a great record to have in rotation for the chill summer evenings or slow weekend mornings this year.

Top Tracks: Big Deal, Ankles, Limerence, Modigliani, Best Guess, Most Wanted Man

7/10

Declan McKenna - "What Happened to the Beach?" (2024)

Declan McKenna's first two records were albums that showed promise, with a handful of impeccable songs on each, but were contained within messy records that felt less than the sum of their parts overall. I liked him enough that I was always going to check out his third record, but I am pleasantly surprised by how into it I am, and how frequently I have been giving it a spin in the months since its release.

On What Happened to the Beach?, Declan has ditched a lot of the glam rock aesthetics that characterised his previous release, Zeros; replacing them with influences of 60's psychedelic pop and sunshine pop, alongside more modern neo-pysche and hypnagogic pop. I can here shades of The Kinks, The Beatles, MGMT and a whole host of others on the these tracks, and I think this vibe suits Declan's persona much better. On WHTTB? Declan comes across like some weird Hollywood old-timer, who's spent a little too much time in the sun and is just on a planet of his own. He sells this subtle off-kilter weirdness so much more easily than the ostentatious glam rockstar he was playing on Zeros. Similarly, the hit or miss social commentary of Declan's previous work is largely absent, replaced with more personal and introspective lyrics mostly focusing on the social disconnect and pressure of expectations that come with fame. All of this together creates a woozy and hazy vibe, like some sort of summer malaise.

The record opens with the worbly and distorted intro track, WOBBLE, where the album title is repeated again and again, before launching into the breezy but moody Elevator Hum. This track, alongside Mullholland's Dinner and Wine capture this summery yet melancholic vibe perfectly. Both have this feeling of existential longing to them, and are the best tracks on the album. On Elevator Hum. glistening synths are set against a trip-hoppy breakbeat and faint distorted horns that finally poke through the mix towards the end of the track. Mullholland's Dinner and Wine similarly fuses a chill synth-funk bassline with woozy distorted horns and some really existential lyrics where Declan describes all of the things fame has given him but how he's still not satisfied.

There are some other great moments on the first half of the record. I Write The News starts off as a Lennon-esque acoustic guitar cut with lyrics that in typical Lennon fashion appear to be profound on the surface, but are actually just nonsense upon closer inspection. The track then flips on its head, with the guitar swapped out for bouncy psychedelic synths. Nothing Works is a catchy indie pop rock tune, with fuzzed out and noisy production that gives it a real sense of energy that matches some of Declan's biggest hits. This is followed by the raucous The Phantom Buzz (Kick In), which is about the last remnant of the glam rock aesthetic of Zeros. The guitars roar and Declan Howls on the mic.

Not everything on the record lands as well as these moments. Lead single Sympathy is such a straightforward sunshine pop tune, it feels kind of derivative and lacks any of the genuine oddball energy that permeates the best of the record. It just sounds like a Kinks pastiche in all honesty. Breath of Light feels like an attempt at the weirder, uncommercial side of MGMT's music, and is fine but nothing particularly interesting. Honest Test is a crooning lounge pop song that reminds me of Arctic Monkey's excursions into the genre, although I'd say its closer to one of the duds on The Car than the genuinely interestingly written stuff on Tranquillity Base. 

The record comes to quite a sleepy and uneventful close, although the final couple of songs have grown on me to an extent. The gentle acoustic guitars and simple vocal melodies of Mezzanine have such a low-key summery vibe, and the subtle swelling of horns and electric guitar as the song progresses is actually really nice. The penultimate track, It's An Act, is in effect the closer, as the final track is essentially just a short little coda, and is perfectly serviceable, although pretty uneventful and unimpactful.

I feel like Declan has found a sound that really fits him on this record, and has produced his most consistently enjoyable album thus far. Not every song hits as hard as others, and there are points that feel a little derivative, but its a good time with more wins than losses.

Top Tracks: Elevator Hum, I Write The News, Mullholland's Dinner and Wine, Nothing Works, The Phantom Buzz

7/10

Everything Everything - "Mountainhead" (2024)

EE's last record, 2022's Raw Data Feel, never really clicked with me despite generally being critically acclaimed and viewed as something fresh and new for the band by many. It stripped away a lot of organic grooves and progressive, linear song structures that characterised a lot of the bands older work, and replaced them with a much more rigid synth pop aesthetic and a smattering of glitch pop and alt dance stylings that felt more gimmicky than genuinely inventive. Similarly the core lyrical concept of the record focusing around AI generated lyrics and the messy, half formed narrative also came across rather gimmicky and almost a self-parody of the band's usual eccentric 'logical extremes' writing style. 

Thankfully, Mountainhead is a return to form for the band, returning to a lot of the kinetic grooves and colourful sound pallets (with that menacing and uneasy undertone) that put the band on the map. I'd say its the closest sounding thing the band has made to their magnum opus, Get To Heaven, in the years since. The record, much like RDF, has a core concept and a semi-linear narrative; however it is much more clearly defined and thoroughly explored. The lead single, Cold Reactor, is essentially the blurb for the world the band has created on Mountainhead and captures the mood and tone of the record effortlessly. Mountainhead is a world where people try and climb the titular mountain by digging deep into the earth for materials to ascend, growing the mountain ever larger and the pit ever deeper. At the top sits only a mirror for those who mange to climb to the top, and at the bottom of the pit roams a giant golden serpent ready to consume those who fall too far in. Quite an obvious allegory for the modern capitalist world, but one that allows for some pretty evocative imagery and for the band's eccentricities to really flourish. Cold Reactor as a song is quite a straightforward driving new wave tune, but probably the bands best crack at that style, with dense lyrics that evoke strong feelings of loneliness and a desire for connection. 

Wild Guess opens up the record in quite a ballsy way, with a minute and a half driving, fuzzed out guitar solo, before Jonathon Higg's vocals come swooning in like some deranged salesman, with rhetorical questions and telling us "this will be the most important thing you'll ever buy from us". It's not clearly painted out for us, but my interpretation of the song is that it is from the perspective of one of the 'Hellcat priests' within the lore of the album, a religious organisation who's end goal is to grow the mountain and keep believing in the cycle and that one day they will make it to the top themselves.

The second single, The Mad Stone, is more obviously from this perspective, and is sonically probably the most out there on the record. The track bounces between these weird 'plink plonky' verses and these massive multi-tracked choruses, it sounds like some deranged cult chant.

The rest of the first half is really consistent as well. The End of the Contender is quite a stark pop song that really focuses on the lyrics inspired by an incident where some armature boxer from the 70's got in a road rage incident and was acting as if he was some sort of celebrity, even though the other person had no idea who they were. The pulsating bass heavy groove and hazy guitars of Buddy, Come Over is very reminiscent of A Fever Dream, and the ear-catching lyric of "Elvis sitting dead on the toilet" really draws you into the moody and sinister atmosphere of the song. The snappy dance beat R U Happy? reminds me of what the band were trying to go for RDF, however feels much more natural and less gimmicky here, without the entire kitchen sink thrown in. TV Dog rounds out the first half with a simple string laden cut that we haven't really seen from the band since Arc. The weird reversed backing vocals sound really sinister and ominous.

While the first half is probably the most consistent 30 mins of music the group has made since Get To Heaven, the band settles into more predictable pop song writing into the second half, which makes the record feel a little lopsided overall. The skittering percussion and deep bass of Canary are juxtaposed against the delicate vocals and woozy lead guitar, which really sells the 'canary in the coal mine' themes of the song. Don't Ask Me To Beg features some really prominent vocal melodies set against a meaty alt dance groove. Dagger's Edge is the closest the record comes to that pure batshit energy of the likes of Blast Doors or Ivory Tower, but is honestly quite reserved in comparison. The song acts as sort of the turning point of the albums themes, from the perspective of someone who has made it to the top of the mountain, but is still not content, watching over his shoulder for people in this dog-eat-dog world and realising he could fall off the 'dagger's edge' at any time. It is the moment where the social commentary on the record turns to the listener and essentially tells us that the game of life presented through the mountain is ultimately all consuming and will never leave you fulfilled.

It does make the tone of the closing two tracks rather nihilistic and gives no real satisfying conclusion the the album. They're both quiet and reflective, and on their own are decent songs, but the placement as the album's final impression is quite unsatisfying. Following the revelations of Dagger's Edge, City Song is from the perspective of someone stuck in the corporate 9-5 where no-one in their company even knows their name. It is very OK Computer, but very mid-point OK Computer, before the rejection of that way of life on the last two songs of the album (Lucky and The Tourist). Everything Everything know this too, as on Get To Heaven, the insanity of that album was rejected in the last two songs, offering an alternative - hope. I do understand the creative decision behind this, its probably more realistic to say that there is no real escape from the mountain, but its certainly not a satisfying conclusion to the record and sours the experience overall; especially as Dagger's Edge was building towards that and it feels like a bait and switch.

Mountainhead has a lot going for it, the concept and narrative are solid and inventive, it features the return of the band's more progressive and challenging song writing. I just wish it went a little further, as the second half is nowhere near as ambitious as the first, and ended in a more satisfying way. But as it stands, it is a return to form that is certainly better than the band's last couple of records.

Top Tracks: Wild Guess, The End of the Contender, Cold Reactor, Buddy, Come Over, Mad Stone, TV Dog, Don't Ask Me To Beg, Dagger's Edge

7/10

Arlo Parks - "My Soft Machine" (2023)

Arlo Parks burst onto the scene with quite the splash in 2021 with her debut record, Collapsed In Sunbeams - winning the Mercury Prize and a Brit Award. It was not hard to see the appeal of that record, with Park's soft and earnest vocal delivery set against very light and summery vaguely trip-hop and soul inspired instrumentals. The songs dealt with quite heavy topics surrounding loss and mental health in a very frank and honest way which has clearly resonated with a lot of people. However, it never quite clicked with me. While there are some highlights, and the record is generally pleasant throughout, I found the record the record quite safe and one-note. The lack of sonic variety in the instrumentals meant they started to run together by the end of the album, and Arlo's lyrical and vocal style felt a little played out. She remained calm and cool throughout, preferring to tell us about her struggles in a very gen z 'therapy speak' kind of way, with no real change in dynamics or expression across the record to really show us the challenges she has been through.

My Soft Machine is certainly a step in the right direction, at least on a musical front. The record expands Arlo's sound to incorporate more elements of synth pop and funk, with a stronger, glitchier trip-hop feel to the beats and even a smattering on indie rock to a couple of the tracks. On the whole the instrumentals feel more fleshed out with more distinct tones and textures to each song. The shimmering synths of Impurities is contrasted nicely against rumbling bass and 90's power pop explosion of Devotion. Which itself is miles away from the squelchy synth funk of Blades. I wouldn't say any of the instrumentals are anything particularly special (and the back end is certainly a step down from the first half), but the variety helps set them apart from each other and the debut.

Lyrically and vocally, however, is very much more of the same from Arlo. Her vocals gently glide on top of the music, never breaking the vibe of the music. I can see how this is the appeal of her as an artist, but tracks like Purple Phase and I'm Sorry just glaze right over me leaving little impression. The best songs on here are the ones that really go for having a big catchy chorus, the aforementioned Blades and lead single Weightless. The soaring vocals and glitchy, chopped up backing vocals sounds like what I would imagine a CHVRCHES trip-hop song would sound like. Phoebe Bridger's shows up to perform backing vocals on Pegasus and has a nice chemistry with Arlo and provides some more meatiness to the vocal presence on that song. It's also a novelty to see Phoebe on a primarily electronic track.

Unfortunately, past Pegasus there isn't much for me to get into on the record. Dog Rose is a very run of the mill jangle pop tune and beat on Puppy is pretty repetitive. The song is just over 3 minutes but feels so much longer. The record limps off with its two most lowkey cuts. Room (Red Room) is smothered in reverb to the point that it all just smooshes together. Ghost brings back the synth funk and trip hop vibes, but the track is so unremarkable for the closer, it just feels like something is missing from it. It would work better if there was a more monuments penultimate song for it to work as the unwinding moment that follows, but the last song with any amount of energy was Dog Rose. 

My Soft Machine feels like a bit of a sidestep, musically it's more varied and fleshed out, but I'd hardly say its more ambitious. And on the whole I'd say the debut has a more consistent baseline of quality, even though the highs here are higher. Blades and Weightless have entered my summer playlist, but I don't think I'll be coming back to the full thing. It's all just very listless and low stakes. Arlo Parks remains an artist I like a lot more in theory than in practice.

Top Tracks: Blades, Weightless, Pegasus

5/10

Foals - "Life Is Yours" (2022)

Foals' last project, 2019s Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost double album, turned out to be quite a tone-setter for the 2 years that immediately followed. Frontman Yannis Philippakis described the records as 'doom soup' and much of the lyrical content focused the general shit-ness of the world circa 2019 (Brexit, Trump and the climate crisis were obvious themes). So when the pandemic hit and took away nearly all the small moments that keep us going through the existential dread, the band took it as an opportunity to shift gears and write a record celebrating those things that we all desperately missed. Which is a pretty good thing in my opinion, as despite part 1 being my favourite Foals album, part 2 might just be their weakest - being run of the mill anthemic stadium rock that I was honestly too kind on at the time, as I have not felt compelled to come back to it once in the years since.

All is evident from the lead single, Wake Me Up. The track is a straight forward and anthemic dance punk stormer, with funky Talking Heads-y grooves and chanted chorus vocals. The track has such an ecstatic energy to it that I haven't heard from the band since Antidotes. The rest of the singles, while not quite as in your face, have grown on me also - providing a sense of pure fun and energy. 2am is more spacious and blocky, with a catchy and warm guitar melody that matches the lyrics detailing the back end of nights out where you're a bit worse for wear, chatting shit with mates in a kebab shop. Its pure nostalgia and just hits the right vibe. 2001 is sugary synth funk that fits the Glastonbury-montage-core descriptor I gave to one of The Wombats' songs earlier this year (I think it was even used in the BBC coverage), although it feels a whole lot more natural and less forced and calculated. Looking High is probably the weakest of the singles, being just a little too 80's pastiche for me. While decent to good songs, I would say that all of the singles bar Wake Me Up do feel a little safe and radio-ready. They don't really go anywhere unexpected. This is pretty evident in that 2001s extended outro is portioned into the separate interlude track (summer sky).

The rest of the album is a bit of a mixed bag. The opener, Life Is Yours, has elements I like: its summery Balearic-esque instrumentation and its general message of 'life is what you make it'; but it might just be the most compressed song the band has ever released. Every singling element is having a boxing match to get some space, and it genuinely sounds awful on headphones. Foals generally have the tendency to blow out their mixes, but this record is the most obviously mixed to be played out loud on a massive stereo system out of any of them. Flutter is built around a repeated guitar loop that initially feels quite quirky and rhythmic, but the track doesn't progress from this one idea and gets old by the end of its runtime. Under The Radar is the same passable but unremarkable stadium rock that filled ENSWBL part 2, and Crest Of The Wave is the washed out slow burn that every single Foals album tries at least once, and I'd say its on the more forgettable side of the spectrum.

Its on the back end of the record that the band finally jump fully into the alt-dance that the rest of the album teases at. The Sound is spiralling and groovy tune that I do find myself getting sucked into as the layers of synths and guitars build to a massive crescendo. The vocals are buried in the mix which I initially was offput by, but they just fit the vibe of the song so well. The closer, Wild Green, is just a full drop into ambient house and while not anything to write home about in the grand scheme of things, it's nice to see the band try something genuinely new that they've only really hinted at in the past.

Ultimately, Life Is Yours is decent, if a little lightweight. Gone is a lot of the weirdness and wonkiness that carried through from their earliest singles to ENSWBL. Philippakis said that they made the album to be played at parties and barbeques and road trips, a soundtrack to people living life again. And that's what it is in the end, a soundtrack, a vibe, background music. But it does succeed in that - its fun, its breezy, its summery (and Glastonbury-montage-core).

Top Tracks: Wake Me Up, 2am, 2001, The Sound

6/10

Everything Everything - "Raw Data Feel" (2022)

With touring of their last record, 2020's Re-Animator, put on hold due to the pandemic, Everything Everything went straight back into the studio to record a new project. While an enjoyable album for me, that record felt like it wasn't much of a step forward for the band compared to their previous four albums for many (a sentiment I can certainly agree with). So the band made a conscious effort to take a new direction with Raw Data Feel both lyrically and sonically. Re-Animator somewhat shifted lyrically to more human, 'emotional' topics than the band's usual socio-political critiques; however did so in quite broad strokes. Raw Data Feel doubles down in this direction, telling more personal stories around the the theme of human responses to trauma. Furthermore, Jonathon Higgs generated a portion of the lyrics using AI by feeding a bot he named Kevin 4chan threads, LinkedIn T&Cs and the whole of Beowulf.

An interesting idea for sure, however it doesn't quite come together for me. Lyrically, the album feels like a bit of a mess and the AI lyrics don't help. The band are known for their eccentric and sometimes cryptic word barrages, but this is the first time for me they seem like they might not have much meaning behind them beyond just being ridiculous for the sake of it. For example, the hook of Pizza Boy is "I'll have a Coke, I'll have a Pepsi now". It is one of the lyrics revealed to be generated from the AI, and the on the nose commentary on consumerism and choice paralysis is 1) nowhere near as deep as it thinks it is, 2) not all that catchy. I'm not going to sing along to that, it sounds stupid, not quirky and eccentric. There is a running theme of the main character wanting to offload his trauma onto a computer, and Kevin is one of several recurring characters in the record, but it isn't clear whether Kevin is the main character or the robot companion. The same goes for Jennifer and The Goatman, how these characters fit in and relate to each other is thinly sketched and unclear. It's an album that appears to have some kind of linear narrative, but when you try and look for it you can't make head or tale of it. 

Similarly, Higgs' lyrics have always had the tendency to descend into generalisations as he focuses more on the feeling created by something rather than the thing or event itself; but due to the increased intimacy of Raw Data Feel, the use of "it" and "thing" is far more common on here than any of their previous releases and so in places does feel underwritten. That being said, the record works so much better if taken on the broader strokes much like the rest of their work. Teletype and I Want A Love Like This are about trying to bury yourself in someone else to avoid your own demons, Bad Friday is about excessive partying, Shark Week is about narcissism and control as coping mechanisms, HEX delves deep into the pits of internet forums, and Jennifer is about straight up escaping a mentally damaging situation or environment.

On a musical level, the band also make a lot of changes, and as a result the album feels all over the place. The band have done away with the majority of the prog-pop and art rock elements of their sound, delving deeper into their synth pop and electronic tendencies. What results is a much more synthetic and ridged sounding album, but with much more simple poppy song progressions. The band still sound as eccentric as they always did, but it feels way more surface level with booming and blown out synths and drums, jarring dynamic changes and instrumental switch ups; rather than the complex grooves and linear builds of the band's earlier records. 

The sequencing and pacing also seems so weird. The first four tracks are the four singles, and are all glitchy alt dance tunes, but after this point the style is dropped and doesn't return again. The fifth track, Jennifer, is a driving Killer's-esque heartland rock song, however Higg's voice is far less suited for this kind of earnest delivery than the likes of Brandon Flowers. It's a shame because the song itself is one of the strongest written on the record. Leviathan is the standard Radiohead inspired slow burn that each EE album has, although it is five and a half minutes long and doesn't do anything really to justify its length. Every EE album also has one track that is the most over the top, balls to the wall song that the band can possibly come up with about 2/3 of the way through the record. Raw Data Feel has not one, but three; and they all sit one after another slap bang in the middle of the runtime. Shark Week is easily my favourite of the three, with its snappy beat and catchy vocal melodies. Cut Up! and HEX, however veer just slightly over the edge from over the top to obnoxious. Cut Up! has a really tacky instrumental that sounds like a bad imitation of Depeche Mode's Master and Servant and Higg's repetitive staccato vocals get really grating. I like the sinister lyrics and booming, bassy verses of HEX, but the chorus feels underwhelming and I can't help but feel like the band has covered the idea of internet radicalisation enough times at this point and far better in the past (e.g. Zero Pharaoh or Ivory Tower).

The record is just a little too long and bloated, and the odd blocking of similar tracks together make it feel disjointed. Metroland Is Burning and My Computer just feel unnecessary. By the time the record limps into it's final leg I struggle to care about the supposed emotional arc songs like Kevin's Car and Born Under A Meteor are supposed to provide to the narrative. The closer does pull me back in to an extent. Titled Software Greatman, it plays more into the existentialism of the idea about offloading your emotions onto a machine and the fact that you can never be truly 'over' something traumatic as it becomes a part of your identity. "I don't know how to get over this thing, 'cause it's always there" Higgs sings and it certainly hits a lot harder than the deliberately deflective lyrics earlier on in the record.

Raw Data Feel is a messy album with a half formed concept. But the fact that it is so overstuffed means with every moment it is trying something new. It's never boring, even if the ideas don't always land. EE are still a band that don't really sound like anyone else. I commend the ambition, and I certainly prefer a miss-fired experiment to something uninspired. If anything, it has given me a greater appreciation for the tight math rock grooves and explosive choruses of group's debut, which is an album that has never truly clicked for me until now.

Top Tracks: I Want A Love Like This, Shark Week, Software Greatman

6/10

The Wombats - "Fix Yourself, Not the World" (2022)

Out of the crop of late 2000s 'landfill indie' bands, The Wombats have certainly aged better than most. The bands cheesy, anthemic hooks have proven far less wince-inducing over the past decade than the awkward, laddish misogyny of the likes of The Fratellis and The Kooks. The band have also smartly evolved their sound over the years, with tracks like 2015's Greek Tragedy sounding closer to the 2010s' 80s revival indie pop of The 1975 than the watered down post-punk and garage rock of the scene they broke through in. This cumulated in 2018's Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life, which took the band back to their early influences and stripped back the sound to match. It's a record that I enjoy to a fair amount, with strong catchy songs that shows the band's clear adoration of the early noughties indie trailblazers like The Strokes and Arctic Monkeys. Fix Yourself, Not the World follows up on a lot of the post-punk revival and dance punk elements of that record, but maxes out the scale and bombast - to varying results.

All is revealed by the opening track, Flip Me Upside Down. The track is so shiny and polished, but feels so predictable and safe. The vaguely dance-punk groove is rigid and lifeless, the hook bland and by the numbers, and the maximalist production sanding off any scrappiness or energy that a track like this needs. The song is far from bad, but it's the kind of watered down early 2010's indie that the band have so far managed sidestep. This over-polished, super safe style is unfortunately carried through the entire album, from the Glastonbury-highlight-montage-core of This Car Drives All by Itself; to a softened up version of Death From Above 1979's heavier style of dance rock on Ready For The High; to the cringy millennial whoops on Don't Poke the Bear .

The lyrics on the album are also quite pessimistic, which is not a style which suits The Wombats well. While the outright cheese of the band has been slowly turned down over the years, the band maintained their sense of fun and levity. While nowhere near as downtrodden as say a Radiohead album (there's actually a really fun lyric referencing the band here), the band tries to tackle some broader societal and introspective themes on the album that they don't really have the writing chops to pull off. The songs are earnest, yet don't have much depth, and also try to retain the bands inherent silliness. It's a weird mix that never really finds balance.

The record still has its moments. Lead single If You Ever Leave, I'm Coming with You is a fun and universally emotional blast akin to a lot of their big hits in terms of melodrama and scale, and This Car Drives All by Itself is incredibly catchy despite how cliché it is. Method to the Madness builds slowly through a low-key, downtempo instrumental into a thunderous and chaotic climax which is surprisingly heavy for The Wombats.

All in all, the album is fine, but incredibly run of the mill. It sounds straight out of 2011 in all the wrong ways, the kind of watered down, overblown, festival-sized indie rock that garnered the 'landfill' term back then. I can see teenagers new to the band loving it, but it lacks originality even compared to the bands earlier work.

Top Tracks: If You Ever Leave, I'm Coming with You, Method to the Madness

5/10

CHVRCHES - "Screen Violence" (2021)

CHVRCHES' first two records were two really great, emotional and introspective synth pop albums featuring gruff and jagged sounding synths and vocal manipulations on Lauren Mayberry's strident voice that gave them a real bite to them compared to a lot of the 2010's 80's nostalgia groups. However with their third album, 2018's Love Is Dead, they shifted to making more mainstream pop with Lauren looking more outwardly for lyrical inspiration and they shipped off production to pop super-producer Greg Kurstin. These changes completely stripped the band of their personality, with the lyrics coming off bland and repetitive, and the music behind them really edgeless.

However I'm glad to say that CHVRCHES are back. From the opening moments of Asking For A Friend you can just tell the band have gone back to what they know best, self-produced edgy and immediate instrumentals and dense and detailed lyrics about Lauren Mayberry's personal experiences in the world. Asking For A Friend is also one of CHVRCHES' best songs. It's self-questioning, yet self-assured; and deals with a fractured and sour friendship that has fallen apart. All this tension and hurt builds throughout the track until it crashes down into a dance breakdown that the band do so well.

Much of the record has taken on a slight horror aesthetic, with darker more graphic lyrics that refer to the likes of death and disappearance and nightmares. To accompany this, the band has leaned more heavily into the darker side of their influences, the likes of Depeche Mode and The Cure. This gives the record more of an alternative rock element compared to their past releases that works well within the band's dynamic. Tracks like California and Violent Delights are built more around their guitar and drum parts, with the layers of synths as an additional varnish on the songs. Violent Delights in particular is build around a driving and grizzly breakbeat, with the cinematic layers of guitars and synths creating a massive and overwhelming sound to accompany the lyrics detailing graphic, off-putting dreams and recurring nightmares.

The record builds to its gigantic centrepiece, the melodramatic and monolithic How Not To Drown featuring Robert Smith of The Cure. It's a fairly long tune for CHVRCHES, that slowly builds to a climactic bridge with both Lauren and Robert pouring their hearts out over thick syrup-y guitars and waves of washing synths that make you feel like your falling deeper and deeper into the songs atmosphere. This is followed by Final Girl, the song that sounds the most like The Cure on the record. The reverb-gated drums and whining guitars sound straight out of Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me. The track deals with the idea of choices and life decisions, and whether there is some final version of yourself that is truly happy and accomplished. The track switches to a major key for the choruses and provides a great dynamic between the reality of what is and the fantasy of what could be.

Unfortunately, the record does have a few flaws. At points it does feel a little too blown out and over-produced, particularly the drums on some of the songs. For example the song Nightmares, which I quite like the song at its core, is so loud and full that Lauren's voice comes of like it's fighting for space against everything else. It sounds like she is shouting, but without any of the body and weight behind it. The singles (other than How Not To Drown) are also not great. He Said She Said has really ugly super blown out drums and uninspired lyrics that read like a Wikipedia definition of gaslighting. It's a frustrating song because Lauren written far better and more nuanced songs about similar topics before. Good Girls isn't quite as bad, but follows a very run of the mill pop chord progression and structure, with quite a repetitive chorus as well. However it does feature the line "They say I cut my teeth on weaker men", which is delivered with a level of sass which makes me smirk.

The album does end on a real high point though, the stripped back ballad about betrayal, Better If You Don't. Lauren delivers the lyrics with a sense of real pain and hurt, the kind of deflation when you give up on someone. The track slowly picks itself up, as the tempo increases and the chiming guitars provide a cathartic release.

Screen Violence is a record that I want to like more than I do, because it contains some of CHVRCHES best songs to date. However a couple of dud singles and slightly excessive production hold it back slightly compared to the band's first two records. I'm glad they're back on form and looking forward to the darker direction they seem to be heading in.

Top Tracks: Asking For A Friend, California, Violent Delights, How Not To Drown, Final Girl, Better If You Don't

7/10

Wolf Alice - "Blue Weekend" (2021)

I have been eagerly anticipating Wolf Alice's return after 2017's Visions Of A Life, the group's second record and one that has grown into one of my all time favourites over the past 4 years. That album was such an expressive and expansive development from their debut, shaking off the more derivative aspects of their sound to create this perfect storm of chaotic noise rock and shoegaze. Blue Weekend follows VOAL by going in a slightly different direction. Enlisting the help of producer Markus Dravs (known for producing the biggest stadium sized rock albums from Coldplay, Florence And The Machine and Arcade Fire), and brimming in confidence from VOAL's Mercury Prize win, the band have crafted their biggest, most epic sounding record so far; yet also their softest and most accessible.

Blue Weekend leans much more on the dream pop side of the dreampop-shoegaze spectrum, with the record achieving the bands trademark hazy atmosphere more with waves of woozy, washed out synths rather than noisy, fuzzed out guitars and layers of feedback. There are still heavier moments on this album, but they're a lot less frequent than on the first two records. Not that it's a bad thing, though, as the song writing is as good (if not better) than it always has been. The lyrics are more direct this time around, focusing on the same sorts of themes of breakups, feeling out of place and lost that the band always has; but in more structured narrative that results in the record feeling like the most focused and cohesive of the three. The more consistent softer sound and shorter runtime also contribute to this feeling.

The record kicks off with the intro track, the short and building The Beach. This song is like a mission statement for the entire album, with Ellie Rowsell declaring that she's 'sick of circling the drain', hungover every weekend and that she doesn't want to battle and fight with someone (and old friend or partner who are no longer seeing eye to eye) anymore. The track linearly builds through lusher and lusher layers of synths and reverb and just sets the tone and frame of mind for the record so well. This is followed by the slow and loose Delicious Things, with the off kilter drums and smooshy psychedelic guitar tones creating this woozy, sort of drunken feel to the song. Rowsell sings in this hushed, staccato way about feeling like she's made it being a rockstar in Hollywood but also feeling lost and vulnerable to the kind of temptations and exploitative people that are part of the LA music and movie culture. The song has a real sense of honesty and balance to it, and really conveys Ellie's mixed, confused emotions without ever coming across like she's lost her agency.

The next track, Lipstick On The Glass, furthers the intricate emotional writing, being a breakup song that details the complexity and layers of grey instead of painting a simplified picture. Ellie sings about a fracturing relationship where it seems she has been cheated on by her partner, but is brutally honest about knowing she would take them back despite the unfaithfulness; yet it's not a song about forgiveness. It sits between the lines of anger and longing in a way that I don't see all that often. Musically, the song feels like it draws influence from a couple of places that the band hasn't really shown before. The strummed acoustic guitar and the flourishes of electric guitar licks that are the basis of the verses are very reminiscent of Jeff Buckley, especially with Ellie singing the entire of the verses in a super high, soulful falsetto that reminds me of his singing style. The track shifts to layered arpeggiated guitars in the chorus and bridge that feel more like Radiohead's In Rainbows. It's an entertaining meeting of these styles that are once again layered up and mushed together with tonnes of multitracked vocals that makes the track sound massive. If Delicious Things feels a bit drunk, Lipstick On The Glass is the point where you're getting quite drunk and the lights and sounds around you start to merge together and you know you should probably stop soon.

Smile is the first of two heavier, more traditionally rock songs on the record. It's a piece of poppy post-grunge that's reminiscent of the heavier moments on the first record, with chugging drums and bass, buzzing lead guitar and soaring, anthemic vocals from Ellie. The lyrics of the song feel much like clean summary of the themes of the record thus far, with Ellie telling us who she is as a person and why she can't just be put in a box as an 'raging rock frontwoman' or 'hysterical lonely girl' ect. The writing doesn't feel quite as personal as the first few tracks, but it doesn't have to be; it is one of the singles after all. And the relatability of the track really do give it legs in that respect. The second of the two is called All The Greatest Hits, and is the shortest song on the record. The track starts as a blistering riot grrl punk track about those obnoxious afterparties that we've all been to, where the music is too loud and the people are off their faces. But at the 50 second mark, the song flips on its head to become perhaps the most viscerally heavy track the band has created so far. Ellie screams at the top of her lungs, "IS IT LOUD ENOUGH??!!" against the backdrop of wailing feedbacked guitars, sirening synths and staccato strings that flood every corner of the mix. It's unbelievably chaotic and intense.

As tracks 4 and 7, these songs break the album into three legs separated by these heavier moments. The middle part of the record in between these two songs are Safe From Heartbreak (if you never fall in love) and How Can I Make It Ok?. Safe From Heartbreak (if you never fall in love) is an acoustic, fingerplucked folk tune with the earnest and relatable topic of not letting yourself fall in love to stop yourself getting hurt. While it has grown on me significantly due to the emotionally raw lyrics and Ellie's expressive cadence and delivery of them, I do feel like it is the weakest track on the record primarily due to the excessive multitracked vocals and the recurring refrain of the title running a tad repetitive. I feel like a more intimate approach to the vocals would've fit the tracks overall vibe and aesthetic much more. How Can I Make It OK? is something the band has never really attempted before, an 80's new wave / synth pop meets dream pop cut which is so damn catchy. The reverb gated drums, airy synths and snappy vocal melodies just stick in my head effortlessly. The track slowly introduces new elements then layers them up to the point where they're all just bouncing off each other.

The final leg of the record similarly progresses through several unique styles through the filter of band's dreamy production, although this part of the record feels the most grand and cinematic. Kicking off the back end is Feeling Myself, a track with a simple premise, men are shit lovers and Ellie feels she can do a better job herself. But the track is presented in a dramatic linear fashion with lush synth and string swells that make it seem like the accompaniment to the final scene of a movie. While I do really respect the song, I have found that I haven't been connecting with it like the other tracks, but I'm not exactly the target audience so that's understandable. I can totally see it being the album highlight for a lot of people. Following this is the soaring, anthemic piano ballad and lead single, Last Man On Earth. It's a song about feeling alone and out of place, even when perhaps you feel like you should be happy and you're not quite sure why you're not. It's a theme the band has nailed consistently in the past and once again deliver. It slowly drags itself from a place of insecurity and isolation to confidence and self-satisfaction. It make's the miniscule feel important and could cheer anyone up if they're feeling this way.

The record finishes up on it's most sentimental and sweetest moments, being No Hard Feelings and The Beach II. No Hard Feelings comes back to the acoustic folk vibes of Safe From Heartbreak, but is much more intimately and simply produced, which lends to the honesty of the song which provides a sense of conclusion to the albums romantic and breakup themes. Its a song about moving on without any lingering resentment to pastures new. The guitar tones on the track are just so perfect, it feels like you're just sat in room with Ellie and an acoustic. The Beach II similarly provides conclusion to the themes of longing and soul-searching, as Ellie accounts watching the sun rise at the beach with her friends, and is reminded that that is all she needs, friends and a plastic cup fill with wine. The low end of the mix is dominated with feedback drenched guitars that sound like an aeroplane taking off, with the chiming lead guitar and Ellie's vocals on top sounding at peace with her self.

Blue Weekend is as fantastic record, and also unique within the band's catalogue. Instead of just repeating what worked so well on VOAL, the band has tried a lot of new things that have for the most part paid off. They've kept true to themselves, and the bands identity and strengths and produced another record I'm gonna have on for years. I think I do still just about prefer the rougher, more chaotic nature of of Visions Of A Life, but Blue Weekend is only a slither behind it in all honesty.

Top Tracks: The Beach, Delicious Things, Lipstick On The Glass, Smile, How Can I Make It OK?, All The Greatest Hits, Last Man On Earth, No Hard Feelings, The Beach II

9/10

Sundara Karma - "Kill Me" (2020)

 

Sundara Karma's second album last year was a nice development from their debut, incorporating more of their arty and glam tendencies to their indie rock and pop sound. Admittedly I have only really come back to the best tracks from that album in isolation, not really the whole record, but it showed promise that the might go onto something even better next. This EP has kind of come out of nowhere at the end of this year, and unfortunately it really isn't that.

The first track and single is the title track, which sounds a bit like early Killers singles, with loud whining guitars and an angsty and theatrical vocals from Oscar Pollock. However the track is ridiculously loud and overblown, with a really weak melody that isn't catchy at all. Lyrically I think it's going for something similar to The 1975's Love It If We Made It, trying to bombard you with how overwhelming life is and then offer a cathartic release in the chorus. However, the writing, performance and production is so flat and underwhelming that the track has no real effect or impact.

Kill Me is probably the most impactful track here, with the four other tracks suffering the same problems: weak writing, forgettable melodies and annoying production. The band do experiment with trap beats on O Stranger and autotune vocal effects on Artifice and I wish they hadn't, because they just don't work at all. There are touches of interesting instrumentation here and there, such as the woodwind on Lifelines, but they're completely suffocated by the compressed production that they don't add much at all to the tracks.

On the whole this EP feels completely throwaway. It's bland and forgettable, but so short and inoffensive that I find it hard to even care. There's nothing to unpack beyond that.

3/10

Everything Everything - "RE-ANIMATOR" (2020)

 

Everything Everything have grown to be one of my favourite bands of the 2010s. Their maximalist and progressive approach to making pop and rock music has consistently produced wholly enjoyable albums, with 2015's basically flawless Get To Heaven being being the crowning jewel in their discography. The accompaniment of Jonathon Higgs' socio-political lyrics taken to their logical extremes, and super eccentric instrumentation and hooks make the band so ear grabbing to me. However, the band has taken a slight change of course with their 5th record that does make it stand out on it's own in their collection.

The band has made a deliberate attempt to shift their lyrical focus away from politics and society, towards the more abstract ideas surrounding the human condition: the development of consciousness, ideas of supernatural fear, enemies, desire, and tribalism. The opening lyric is "I did what anybody would that day, No speechless gibbon in the road, Not me" and sets up the tone of the record perfectly. To accompany the more cerebral themes, the instrumentation has been toned down. These tracks are far less over the top and manic, and feel simpler and more stark. I understand that it will be a turn off to some fans, as singing along to some batshit lyrics to a super fun poppy groove is a big part of the band's appeal; and even the singles from the record aren't particularly catchy in that way. But for me, the more minimalist approach is a nice change of pace that allows the more conceptual themes room to breathe and sink in.

The opener, Lost Powers, sounds like the grand awakening the opening lyric suggests. The simple chiming guitar and drums slowly give way to more elaborate instrumentation. It sounds like some kind of daybreak as the world slowly becomes more illuminated. Big Climb tackles the uncontrollable desire for excess that seems to drive so many people, backed by a more aggressive glitchy beat and harsher more staccato vocals from Higgs. It Was A Monstering and Moonlight are about as straight up Radiohead-worship as the band has ever been (and the last record, A Fever Dream, had some very Radiohead-y moments), and the first of those is actually a pretty good attempt. The krautrock-ian, rigid drums and dark, hollow guitar tones would fit in perfectly on Amnesiac. Higgs even does a really good Thom Yorke impersonation. The descending guitar lines and sinister hook melody are really good. I especially like the switched up bridge of the track. It's a really well constructed song, even if it's influences are obvious. Moonlight, on the other hand calls back to some of the more serene Radiohead ballads such as Nude. Its not bad, but doesn't quite come together into something particularly distinct for me.

The middle of the record is where it goes on its biggest run, starting with the single Arch Enemy. This track is about as close as the record comes to the band's big pop singles of the past, with its squelchy synth-funk groove and bizarre lyrics comparing an enemy to a fatberg that attaches itself to you. It is the wackiest and most fun song on the album. Lord of the Trapdoor focuses around the ideas of tribalism and 'otherness', built around a really simple and stripped back beat and stark, chiming guitar which just descends into a ferocious, heavily distorted guitar solo that tears up the back half of the song as the track falls into madness. The beat on the following song, Black Hyena, is this super snappy and prangy loop that sounds like something you'd find on a Massive Attack album which gives the song a unique flavour within the EE discography. The lyrics are really sinister, seemingly alluding to personality changes following perhaps brain damage, or maybe just a traumatic event in general - they're pretty abstract.

However, RE-ANIMATOR is certainly the least consistent record since the group's debut. Early on in the record, the single Planets is the first sign of trouble. The track is perfectly listenable, but feels like a one trick pony with its long, slow-burn verses that slowly build up through the chorus towards a spiralling post-chorus synth line. It's the only thing the track has up it's sleeve and it gets old fast. Towards the end of the album, the songs In Birdsong and The Actor also have some crippling flaws that ruin the entire tracks for me. In Birdsong is a linear, building ballad that sounds ethereal and profound; and the track at the core of it is fairly good. But as the track builds in intensity and volume, the entire mix becomes more and more tinny and compressed. It's obviously an intentional artistic choice, but it sounds really unbearable. Likewise, on The Actor, the group go so completely overboard on the reversed vocal effects that it's incredibly distracting and kills any enjoyment I might've got from an already not that impressive song.

The band do save the best cut on the record for last, being the blistering new wave throwback of Violent Sun. The pummelling drums, whining guitar leads, and overwhelming vocal delivery just commands you to feel something. It's really good, and really powerful with the simple message of  'it's okay to feel like you don't understand, or that the world is overwhelmingly confusing and scary'.

RE-ANIMATOR is a good album, if slightly underwhelming when compared to Arc, A Fever Dream, and especially Get To Heaven. I appreciate that the band took risks with their sound, and when the play out, they result in some really good songs. It's not going to be everyone's cup of tea, especially if you came to the band for their whacky, up-tempo singles. It's certainly an album which grew on me with time though, so don't just write it off on first listen.

Top Tracks: Lost Powers, It Was A Monstering, Arch Enemy, Lord Of The Trapdoor, Black Hyena, Violent Sun

7/10

Glass Animals - "Dreamland" (2020)

Glass Animals first two albums were pretty different, but equally great records that mixed up a lot of different sounds and styles including art pop, psychedelia, R&B and indietronica. However since the release of How To Be A Human Being in 2016, the band's drummer Joe Seaward was involved in a serious cycling accident and suffered brain damage, causing the band to go on hiatus while he recovered. Thankfully he has made a full recovery, and the whole experience left frontman Dave Bayley wanting to create a more personal album for their next release, as opposed to the eccentric character studies of HTBAHB.

This shift in lyrical content has also been accompanied by a shift in sound as well. The R&B elements of their sound take the centre stage here, with the psychedelic and art pop tendencies nowhere to be found. These R&B influences have been augmented with more than a handful of trap beats and a general washed-out, hazy dream pop atmosphere. I understand that this an attempt to match the dreamy nostalgia of the lyrical content, and that the more eccentric elements of the band's sound in the past would not have fit. However the album doesn't really sound dreamy, it sounds flat and sedated. This is part due to how slickly produced it is, but mostly due to the generic and predictable songwriting on both fronts - lyrically and musically.

Nearly every beat and groove on this record feels like I've heard it before in some generic pop tune on the radio in the past two or three years. It's the same thing with the hooks, melodies and chord progressions. It's almost as if the band was aiming for that market of boring, meaningless, 'vibey' pop songs that leave no impact and say nothing. The title track opens up the record with the most generic of Ibiza styled piano riff's before Bayley comes in with the most repetitive of vocal melodies, all filtered through so much reverb and echo it just sounds like slush. That's literally all the song does for three and a half minutes. The following track, Tangerine, sounds like Bayley heard Childish Gambino's Feels Like Summer, tried to make it, and ended up making something that sounds enough like it for it to be noticeable, but with a melody and groove so repetitive it fails miserably at recreating that euphoric summery vibe. It's All So Incredibly Loud is a linear track that is supposed to build and build throughout until the climax at the end of the song. However, the chord progression and synth crescendo at the of the song sound like any summer club track you'd here over the past 4 or 5 years; even if the percussion rhythm at the base of the track is decent.

Lyrically the album just doesn't work either. It's supposed to be about Bayley's experiences growing up - so it's a coming of age story. But it isn't; it's just a bunch of references to things from the late 90s / early 2000s (Space Ghost Coast To Coast is basically just a list of early 00s video games), and generic 'vibey' party songs about partying and sex and booze. There's no story here, no arc. Bayley is telling us nothing about himself, and filling in the gaps with his usual references to fruit and other random things. This fractured, whacky lyrical style worked on HTBAHB when he was turning it up to 11 and creating these incredibly eccentric character studies. On Dreamland, it seems like he doesn't want to turn himself into a caricature like this, but toning down the eccentricity just makes obvious Bayley's lyrical shortcomings.

While the majority of the record, while incredibly dull and boring, is inoffensively bland; there are a handful of real stinkers in here. Tokyo Drifting features Bayley's absolutely terrible attempt at trap rapping, and his vocals are filtered with so many effects that it genuinely sounds horrible. Luckily he hands the reigns over to Denzel Curry half way through, and Denzel being an incredibly talented rapper almost saves the track (but not quite). Melon And The Coconut personifies a fracturing relationship as these two fruit talking to each other, and it as stupid as it sounds. Bayley's vocals are filtered through the worst auto-tune imaginable, and there's a bluesy guitar part in the track that feels like its been put through the same awful effects. Waterfalls Coming Out Your Mouth obsession with sex really rubs the wrong way, I think due to it trying so hard to come across dirty and edgy while still attempting to be random and quirky. There's a lyric about gummy bears in this track, and gummy bears are not sexy, and trying to make them sound it comes across really weird and creepy. The track is also awfully mixed. Every part of the song is either too loud or too quiet at various points, but the dynamic is constantly shifting and it sounds terrible.

There are a couple of tracks that do feel fairly decent, although they would easily be some of the weakest tracks if they appeared on the group's first two records. Hot Sugar is built on the same jazzy sample as Loyle Carner's You Don't Know from last year, and it gives the song more of a sense of genuine coolness and actual life to it, and the vocal melody isn't too bad either. However if I think about the track too much, all I can think of is that if I like the song because of the sample and You Don't Know uses the sample better, why aren't I listing to that instead? Your Love (Deja Vu) is easily the best track here. The beat and bass groove on the track give it the greatest sense of urgency and momentum of any of the songs, and Bayley's vocals sound sensual and impactful. And the melody is actually catchy and not repetitive.

This record is one of those ones that feels so much longer than it is, by virtue of it being so repetitive and boring. I could not tell any of tracks from the last leg of the record apart from each other, because they all sound the same, and all sound so weak and unmemorable. Furthermore, there are enough stinkers on here for me to not ever want to come back to it. I find it so perplexing that the band threw out everything that made their first two records really interesting and fun, and replaced it with a sound that is already done to death, that they aren't even doing to a degree of any quality. This is not a good album and I'm really disappointed by it.

Top Track: Your Love (Deja Vu)

3/10

Glass Animals - "How To Be A Human Being" (2016)

I've been listening to Glass Animal's debut album, Zaba, for a few years now. The groups woozy psychedelic pop has a humid, tropical atmosphere which makes it perfect for hot summer evenings. With the group releasing new music, I have finally got round to checking out their follow-up, 2016's How To Be A Human Being. The core of the band's sound is still here (the glossy, multilayered production, Dave Bailey's sensual falsetto vocals), but it has been expanded upon with more ambitious elements and lyrical concepts.

Each of the tracks on How To Be A Human Being focuses on a different character, all inspired by people the group met while touring Zaba. We take a look inside the heads of these characters, with their inner monologues accentuated and absurd-ified. It reminds me of the writing style in fellow indietronica band Everything Everything's work. The lyrics here are not as socio-politically charged or as taken to the extreme as EE, but do evoke the same feelings of silly absurdity tinged by a genuine sense of believability.

The record opens on an incredibly bombastic, anthemic note with Life Itself. This track is built around groovy afrobeat rhythm, and revolves around this loser like character who's mother is disappointed in his life choices. It explodes into a massive chorus with blaring synths and distorted horns, where the character seemingly doesn't care. It creates a weird juxtaposition, as the music sounds like your supposed to root for this character, yet the lyrics clearly describe why your not supposed to. Youth carries on this anthemic atmosphere, although it isn't quite as in your face. The track is a typical coming of age story about growing up. It hits all the right notes, and the silky smooth chorus is irresistible.

Season 2 Episode 3 is more stripped back than the first two tracks. There's a rolling hi-hat beat and midi-esque, chip tune sounding synthesizers. It gives the track a retro video game feel, and even samples sounds from Super Mario Brothers. The song is about people who lounge around all day binge watching TV, and the music really fits the vibe. It's all very chilled. The  majority of Mama's Gun is a tense build up with a jangly piano motif and wondrous sounding woodwind. Eventually some choral backing vocals come in just before the track gently crescendos. All that tension feels like it needs a bigger payoff, which keeps the eery vibe of the song intact right towards the end. 

While the album doesn't quite get as festival ready as the opening tracks, it still has some massive sounding songs. Pork Soda has the excellent hook of "Pineapples are in my head, I've got nobody cause I'm braindead" and the track just builds up the layers more and more until track feels like it genuinely could not sound any more full. Take A Slice has a really fuzzed out, bluesy guitar and a woozey, sensual vocal melody. It sounds like modern Tame Impala and Like Clockwork... era Queens Of The Stone Age smashed together, and is absolutely mental and surprisingly works. Blaring horns and staccato piano come in when the chorus hits, all accumulating in the guitar solo outro that is just so much noise but brilliant.

The album sags just a little in the middle. Cane Shuga is perfectly fine but doesn't really do much for me, and [Premade Sandwiches] is one of many tracks that try to be Fitter Happier. It's still one of the better imitators, but I don't really know why artists try to go for that idea - because no one ever seems to match Fitter Happier's balance between irony and paranoia. The Other Side Of Paradise's chorus features this very 2010s, post-dubstep, bass drop. It is pretty tastefully done here, but it does make the track already seem a bit dated - and is the only point where the album seems to be chasing the trends of the time.

These weaker moments are still well done, their ideas don't quite connect with me like the rest of the track list. So despite the ambition here, I'd say I like it about the same as Zaba. Both are great albums, with different qualities. Zaba goes for a more consistent tone and vibe; whereas HTBAHB is more ambitious and higher highs, but has a few moments that don't hit like the rest of the record. I'm really quite interested in what the group do for album 3 now, although the singles released so far haven't really landed with me the way these two records have.

Top Tracks: Life Itself, Youth, Season 2 Episode 3, Pork Soda, Take A Slice

8/10

Circa Waves - "Sad Happy" (2020)

The indie pop rock band have quickly followed up their third album, last year's What's It Like Over There, a record I didn't think was all that great. It felt rather underwritten and trend-chasing, and I haven't really come back to any of the songs from it since. This record is a double album, with the first half titled Happy and containing expectedly cheerful songs and the second half, titled Sad, likewise exploring more downbeat emotions. While fairly short by even single album standards (it's 43 minutes), this idea is executed very well and does make it feel like a double album. The Happy side is all really upbeat, cheerful songs; and the sad side does feel emotional and vulnerable.

My two big gripes with What's It Like Over There are also improved upon here. While the sound of the record is hardly something new, the incredibly irritating 2010's pop rock tropes in WILOT are nowhere to be found. This album finds itself playing in the sounds of 2000's to early 2010's indie bands such as Vampire Weekend, The Killers and Two Door Cinema Club, and also dabbles in some more new wave sounding stuff on the Sad half of the record. It's certainly a sound the band are far more at home in than trying to sound like Imagine Dragons. The lyricism and song writing are also stronger here, with more detailed songs and actual choruses that aren't just one line sung over and over. Some of the songs (mainly on the Sad side) feel like they're genuine and honest, and do feel like they connect to a certain extent.

Unfortunately, even though it doesn't posses any real negative qualities, it doesn't really do anything particularly special and noteworthy, especially the Happy side. These songs feel like they're just aping other bands styles - like some sort of tribute act that plays their own songs as well. The singles Jacqueline and Move To San Francisco, as well as the track Wasted On You, are very indebted to Vampire Weekend. Perhaps it's because I've never really gotten into them, but I really don't care for the songs in this style. They're competent and professional, but do nothing for me. The best songs on the Happy half are the two louder, heavier tracks. Be Your Drug matches up an early era Two Door Cinema Club chorus with some heavy, crunchy guitars, creating quite a unique hard dance-punk sound to the song. Call Your Name sounds like Hot Fuss era Killers b-side, with roaring guitars and a soaring, anthemic hook. And while it doesn't match the quality of the best Killers tracks, it's still decent enough.

The Sad side doesn't feel quite so derivative, outside of the poppy Battered & Bruised. This track sounds somewhere between AM Arctic Monkeys and The Black Keys, and has these tacky whistles as part of the chorus. It sounds annoying and earworm-y and perfect for a car ad. The rest of this half takes a more subtle new wave-y approach. Wake Up Call has this dramatic outro with these arpeggiated synth line, and Keiran Shuddal's vocals sound very earnest in it. The following track, Sympathy, is an emotional, self deprecating, acoustic guitar ballad with some eery chords that help to sell the angst. Hope There's A Heaven sounds so 80's with reverb effects smoothering the synths and Keiran's towering vocals, and the rigid bass and drum track. The Closer, Birthday Cake, is a weird closer. It's a slow, mellow, Coldplay-ish, tune that's moody and brooding - and is a decent song. But it's one of the few songs on the Sad side that doesn't really have much of a positive angle within it, and so is a weird way for the album to leave off on.

This album is fine. It is well written and professionally made, but I feel like it's sterile and workman-like. It lacks the raucous energy of the bands first couple of records, and is no where near inventive or unique enough to really have it's own identity. I don't dislike it, but I don't really like it either. At least it's definitely an improvement from WILOT, and maybe the group will go off and do something completely different for album 5, since they have the intentions of releasing music a lot more quickly than other guitar acts.

Top Tracks: Be Your Drug, Call Your Name, Wake Up Call

5/10

Circa Waves - "What's That Left Over There?" (2019)

Following the band's rather underwhelming third album earlier this year, they have dropped this EP consisting of two tracks which didn't make the record and alternate versions of two tracks which did, The Way We Say Goodbye and Times Won't Change Me.

These new versions are stripped back tracks, with The Way We Say Goodbye being piano-led and Times Won't Change Me being played on an acoustic guitar. Without all the extra instrumentation and production, The Way We Say Goodbye comes across even more bland and formulaic. The swap from piano to acoustic guitar on Times Won't Change Me does make the track feel a little more rough and raw, however the track still retains its complete lack of any lyrical substance, which is what turned me off it originally.

The two new tracks however, are pretty good. Something More is this new wave style song with emotion but understated vocals. The drum machine and early-80s sounding synths give it a real throwback vibe. Hunters is a folky acoustic tune, which also sounds very restrained. These songs don't feel forced, or lacking in any lyrical substance, like much of the album. I'm surprised that they didn't make the album to be honest, since it was so short anyway.

This EP has restored a bit of my faith in the band, showing that they can still write a decent tune. Hopefully album 4 matches their usual quality.

Top Tracks: Something More, Hunters

6/10

Circa Waves - "What's It Like Over There?" (2019)

Circa Waves' 2017 sophomore album, Different Creatures, was a great development from their debut. It added darker and heavier elements to their youthful indie rock sound, creating a more sonically diverse album that still retained its blistering energy. So when frontman Keiran Shudall started talking about how the next album would be even more visceral and cinematic, I was exited. Unfortunately, it's not very cinematic, just underwritten, overproduced and sonically all over the place.

The album is short, 30 minutes long, with only 10 tracks. One of which, the title track, is only a intro track to the album. This track is literally the sound of some gulls and a van door closing, which I find frankly bizarre as it doesn't feel like it connects to the actual first track at all. So there's actually 9 proper tracks, in a 30 minute timespan which cover completely different styles. There's no flow or running thread throughout the album, just a bunch of vastly disparate songs.

And the songs, they aren't great. The actual first track, Sorry I'm Yours, sets the album off on a bad foot with typical Imagine Dragons style overblown bass and percussion during the chorus. It is such a turn off for me. Then follows Times Wont Change Me, a stomping piano rock tune that does initially have some bite. That is until about 50 seconds in when Keiran has sung the line 'these times wont change me now' about 4 times already and you realise hes going to sing it about 400 more times before the song finishes. That's a big problem that runs through much of the album, most of the songs feel really underwritten. The verses don't seem to have much detail or depth, and the choruses are just the song titles repeated 4 times over. Me Myself And Hollywood has this problem as well. The track has these really chilled verses with this lackadaisical Arctic Monkeys Humbug style guitar. But the title is legitimately the title repeated 4 times. What does 'me myself and Hollywood' even mean? Be Somebody Good is perhaps strangest mess on the whole album. It opens with a really nice angst ridden opening verse that's set to programmed drums and it builds in intensity until the chorus hits, which consists of Keiran singing 'I wanna be somebody good' over and over against the returning overblown pop-rock drums and bass. There is a really nice sounding guitar solo at the end of the track, but it really comes out of nowhere and is over in 6 seconds, so feels really out of place. The Way We Say Goodbye and Motorcade are more consistent sounding songs, but are rather underwhelming attempts at their respective genres (the former being mid-2000s soft rock akin to Coldplay and Snow Patrol, and the latter being a more electronic rock leaning sound). The best the album has to offer is lead single Movies and the closer Saviour. Movies is a pretty standard Circa Waves song, with their trademark youthful energy. Savour is the bands attempt at blues rock and definitely feels like the loosest song on the album, and also seems the most poignant, with lyrics about class divisions.

It's strange after the political songwriting on Different Creatures that this album is so devoid of it. Apparently Keiran was fighting writers block when creating this album, and you can definitely tell with all the repeated phrases and the fact these songs don't really appear to be about much beyond their vague pontificating. The frustrating thing is that there is something I like about every song on this record; I like Keiran's performance of chorus on Sorry I'm Yours, I like the backing vocals and production on Passport, I like the general aesthetic of Me Myself and Hollywood. But they're all assembled into these hodgepodge, clunky songs. If they were struggling to write something meaningful, maybe the band should've taken a break for a bit instead of heading right into the studio.

Top Track: Movies, Saviour

4/10