Kicking off their year with a frenetic live show at King Tut’s where they were joined by psychedelic songwriter Peter Cat, the Glasgow trio released their second EP on Valentine’s Day. In the shape-shifting oddball pop tradition of Syd Barrett and The Beta Band, the four-and-a-bit tracks never quite let the listener settle into one thing; a post-punk bass strut slips into complex time signatures, sardonic spoken word into earnest acoustic choruses just as the audience is starting to get comfortable. The energy of the live performance translates into a more layered percussive bounce. It could come off as a bit forced if it weren’t for a smooth melodic sensibility and the moments when the quirk gives way to genuine disarming honesty, made all the more powerful by its unexpectedness; the point of intersection between Hall & Oates and Daniel Johnson.
A Romantic Trip to the Brain and Back is out now
