There is no messing about as the album explodes into the first track ‘Life’s A Bitch (But I Like It So Much)’.  A very full-on track with a Stooges like intro that sets the tone for what is to come: a great slab of garage rock with clear and very powerful vocals from Lia. Next up is ‘Hung Up’ which continues the in-your-face aural assault with a delicious riff that hooks you and pulls you in straight away. Again, the vocals are very powerful and really grab your attention. ‘Reeling’ slows things a little, opening with a cheeky little bass line, touches of feedback and a chiming guitar. The song smoulders away and builds nicely as it chugs along. ‘Old Friends Die Hard’ is a quirky sounding swagger through a slice of US southern gothic sleaze. This song just oozes a sense of danger and menace and is just great!

‘Dangerous’ is about as conventional a rock song as you are going to get on this album, but it still exudes an air of danger and menace. Lia’s vocals are tremendous throughout this album and really contribute a lot to each track, especially this one. Next up is ‘On The Run’, which is not so frantic as what’s gone before. A nice laid-back track with some harmonies thrown in for good measure. The song has a kind of sadness to it and ends before anything is resolved, leaving me wanting more. ‘Under Your Skin’ is a haunting little number that ramps up the gothic southern vibe a notch with genuinely frightening vocals and stripped back instrumentation. This is terrific stuff! On ‘The Bad Thing’, a great big garage riff powers the tune throughout as it builds in intensity and power, another song with intriguingly dark lyrics. ‘In My Head’ carries on the intensity with more powerful vocals from Lia over a pounding rock backing.

‘Means To Bleed’ is another intensely dark song with chilling lyrics;

“The voices call
They’re telling me
To show you what it means to bleed”.

By the end of the song, you will indeed understand what it means to bleed! This is powerful and intriguing stuff. ‘All These Things’ sounds like a nice slice of pop punk and is one of the longest tracks on the album. This is certainly the most commercial sounding song and is catchy and upbeat. The penultimate song ‘ Still Call You Home’ is another stripped back, acoustic number with more than a passing hint of PJ Harvey in there. This brings us to the final track ‘Confession Song’, a slow atmospheric number that is a fitting end to this collection.

It takes a lot to excite me these days but this band has managed it with this album. A phenomenal release and I can’t wait to hear what they come up with in the future.

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