A few years ago there was a theory going round that guitar music could no longer innovate – that it had broken all the ground it was going to and had now entered an ‘age of refinement’, taking all that had happened in the half century or so before and distilling it into some kind of ultimately essential concoction. Or something.
Whilst I’d debate the validity of that theory, it holds true for this album from the prolific Glasgow indie band, which takes a slice of Britpop swagger, a freewheeling post-punk clatter, a witty college rock lyric, and combines them into something that sounds like a band steeped in the love of all that led them to this point.
The eleven songs on The Shakes rattle by with a blustering, welcoming energy that feels like the kind of euphoric festival set that leaves you spinning, singing into the night.
