11:00am Friday 9th March 2012
By Peter Martini
The album title sounds like it should be thrash metal. The band name sounds considerably jollier. What you get here is something in between. “The sonic equivalent to a beautiful shotgun to the head,” said one early press release, though it’s more like machine-gun than shotgun.
As on the Brooklyn duo’s noted debut, Treats, heavy, authoritative beats over the top of Alexis Krauss’s cooing vocals grab the attention, though this album is a little less distorted and more tuneful. It kicks off with live guitar licks before effortlessly switching to a lo-fi Born To Lose. Eighties-influenced beaty pop-ballad End Of The Line, one of a few tracks dealing with the death of guitarist Derek Miller’s dad, is among the highlights.
Single Comeback Kid is the most charty. It remains a quite unique, unconventional sound, much of which demands to be played loudly. The jury might be out on how well it works but certain subsets of people will love it.
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