One of the finest young indie bands in Great Britain return with a fantastic second album.

From Wrexham, though possibly the only Wrexhamites to not yet appear on Welcome to Wrexham, and making music since 2019. The band name comes from a social club in Acrefair. The band will appeal to older fans of indie from the nineties and noughties, but they have ammassed a vociferous young following. Reading Indie Life caught the band in the Festival Republic tent at Reading in 2023 and they had a very big crowd for the time of day, loads of teenagers present who were all very active in singing along and dancing or moshing.

Debut album Shaking Hips and Crashing Cars was a solid effort with a great album cover. This follow up shows the growth in their confidence from lots of touring and bigger profile gigs, lots of practice and hard work have been levelling up their skills.

Whilst this album is Called Songs For The Spine, Songs For The Heart, Or Songs For a Broken Heart might have been more accurate. There is a lot of relationship turmoil explored on here. A lot of longing that things had worked out differently. Concerns about time slipping away. There are also a few references to addiction, though this seems to be song writing license rather than any form of direct personal experience.

The singles that proceeded it were all very strong. ‘Shivers’ was an instant indie-classic, ‘The Patch Where Nothing Grows’ was peak-Kooks and the one that has best connected with an audience. ‘Cariad’ starts of slower but still has a lot of controlled energy. None single track ‘Spinning’ has a similar style to it. 30/20 was put out as a single a few days before the album.

This album is another reminder that the death of guitar bands remains a gross exaggeration and that young talent continues to come through. There is much to enjoy here. Tom Faithfull has a real ability to convey a dynamic vocal range but without ever losing the identity of his own voice. The guitar playing is tight, controlled and highly effective. This is a very British indie-album and we strongly recommend it.